Huffington Magazine Issue 18 | Page 99

JOHN SHEARER/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES Exit but that’s as far as I want to go.” Some couldn’t see a way forward without their fearless zombie leader, while others called it the best thing that could’ve happened to the show. “The Walking Dead has always needed a televisionsavvy hand to guide it,” wrote Scott Meslow in the Atlantic, pinning some of the show’s weaknesses on Darabont’s unease with the TV format. “And fortunately for AMC, newly appointed showrunner Glen Mazzara is much more qualified than Darabont for the job.” Now, fans can judge for themselves: Season 3 of AMC’s horror series — premiering Sunday, Oct. 14 — is the first whose conception and execution will be entirely under the helm of executive producer and showrunner Glen Mazzara. “Whenever I write a script, I want people on the edge of their seat,” Mazzara told Huffington. “That’s my voice, and that’s what I want the show to be.” Fans and critics had lamented the slow pace of the second season, which almost exclusively took place on a farm. Mazzara, who previously wrote and produced for FX’s highdrama series The Shield, says that upcoming episodes will be different. “I think it was my job going into TV Season 3 to better integrate all of the things we love about The Walking Dead so that you don’t have to wait too long for some humor or a scare or a thrill or a heartfelt scene,” Mazzara said. “I wanted to the show to be unpredictable. I wanted the show to be thrilling. HUFFINGTON 10.14.12 This will be the first season of The Walking Dead with Glen Mazzara (The Shield) at the helm.