‘The Walking Dead’ season 4 to start production in May, begins in October
AMC confirmed what most fans of The Walking Dead were pretty certain of already: Glen Mazzara’s righthand man Scott Gimple will take over as showrunner and executive producer when the show’s 16- episode fourth season begins production May 6.
The new season will premiere in October.
Season 4 gets a new director
“Scott has been an essential part of this show since he came aboard at the very beginning of season two. He’s contributed to guiding this show in a substantial way that has resulted in a lot of the key scenes and storylines fans have dubbed signature moments of The Walking Dead,” said the show’s creator Robert Kirkman in today’s press release. “I am thrilled to begin work on a brand new season of The Walking Deadwith Scott at the helm, and I truly believe we could be embarking on what will be the best season of this show yet.”
And Gimple’s not the only guy who moved up in the TWD ranks. The show’s Emmy-winning special effects and makeup guru Greg Nicotero, who has proven himself a man of many talents on the series, has been promoted to executive producer, along with producer Tom Luse.
“Scott’s voice has been an integral one since he joined the show,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s EVP of original programming, production and digital content, in the same statement. “Greg Nicotero is a true artist whose work is simply brilliant. And Tom Luse has really created the machine that allows this very large show to get made week to week. We congratulate all three in their new roles on the series and look forward to ramping up production on Season 4.”
“I’m thrilled to continue the tradition of the spectacular, cinematic, horrifying, exciting and emotional storytelling of The Walking Dead,” said Gimple, who has crafted some of the show’s most jaw-dropping episode’s including Season 2′s midseason finale “Pretty Much Dead Already” that revealed the heartbreaking fate of Carol’s daughter Sophia. “I’m a huge fan of the comics, and started with the show on the other side of the set, as an avid viewer. Over the past two years, it’s been an incredible privilege making such great television with the best cast and crew I’ve ever worked with. I can’t wait to make some more.”
Nicotero, who also handled special makeup effects for the Quentin Tarantino hits Kill Bill, Grindhouse and Inglorious Basterds and his team scored back to back Emmys in 2011 and 2012 for their work on The Walking Dead.
A few weeks back, Nicotero also told a throng of fans in Milwaukee how much he enjoys the opportunity to direct some episodes, as well, including last Sunday’s outing in which Andrea finally ventured to the prison — and oh-so-vivdly performed oral surgery on a zombie with a rock and her boot heel.
Luse, who has been with The Walking Dead since its inception, is based in Atlanta and helms the day-to-day production of the series.
