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Court documents reveal shocking emails
The circumstances behind exactly why Frank Darabont -- who developed Robert Kirkman's comic series The Walking Dead for TV -- was ousted during Season 2 have been the subject of gossip and speculation since it happened in 2011. But court documents from the former showrunner's lawsuit against AMC show that a big part of why he was dismissed is that he was really, really mean.
The Hollywood Reporter has an in-depth report on the court documents, which include emails from Darabont like this gem sent to executive producer Gale Anne Hurd in June 2011: "F--- you all for giving me chest pains because of the staggering f---ing incompetence, blindness to the important beats, and the beyond-arrogant lack of regard for what is written being exhibited on set every day. I deserve better than a heart attack because people are too stupid to read a script and understand the words. Does anybody disagree with me? Then join the C-cam operator and go find another job that doesn't involve deliberately f---ing up my show scene by scene."
The report contains many more examples of abusive emails from Darabont, who AMC's lawyer says was fired because "his volatile and disturbing interactions with staff and talent were impacting production." But to be fair, Darabont's anger was at least partially justified (even if his means of expressing it aren't). Season 1 performed strongly for AMC, setting a viewership record for basic cable, and yet the show's budget was cut by 25 percent for Season 2. In addition, AMC demanded to review all the scripts up front before shooting began for the season. Tensions between Darabont and AMC grew during production of Season 2 until he was fired and Glen Mazzara (who also is no longer with the show) took over.