-
(#1) Chandler Riggs's Father Says ‘Walking Dead’ Producers Lied To His Son Before Firing Him
William Riggs, father of Chandler (who played Carl), concurs with the fans’ allegations against showrunner Scott Gimple, as he also believes Chandler was unfairly fired. He posted to Facebook about the incident, saying his son was slated to be on the show for three years according to what Gimple had told him during an April 2018 phone call.
By June of the same year, Chandler and his parents were called into the Walking Dead production offices only to find out he was being let go by Gimple. William said, "Chandler was absolutely devastated. I was disappointed Scott had been dishonest with a 17-year-old making life decisions and waited to tell us.”
-
(#2) A Stuntman Died During The Filming Of Season 8
In July 2017, stuntman John Bernecker fell to his death while performing a stunt with actor Austin Amelio during the filming of Season 8. In one scene, Amelio’s character was to push Bernecker from the balcony. The scene had not been rehearsed and Bernecker fell short of the padding below during the stunt. He later expired from his injuries.
Bernecker’s family sued the production, blaming AMC's budget cuts for his death. Their filing says, “The production of Season 8 of The Walking Dead, like seasons before it, had an emphasis on keeping production budgets low and profits high… the AMC Defendants are each independently responsible for the failure of The Walking Dead production to take reasonable safety precautions to protect its performer, John Bernecker."
-
(#3) Season 9 Ratings Tanked In-Part Due To The Exit Of Two Main Characters
The Walking Dead saw its lowest overall ratings in Season 9, with October 2018's premiere its lowest-rated show since 2011. Viewers were upset after the deaths of some major characters in Season 8, including that of Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs).
The move, a significant departure from the graphic novels on which the show is based, did not sit well with fans. Actor Andrew Lincoln who plays Rick Grimes (Carl’s father) also announced his departure from the show after Season 9 to spend more time with his family.
Without the Grimes’ storyline, viewers started to tune out in droves.
-
(#4) AMC Wanted To Slash The Show's Budget By $650,000 Per Episode After Season 1
AMC wanted to slash The Walking Dead's budget from $3.4 million to $2.75 million in Season 2 and wanted twice the number of episodes - 13 after the previous season's six. AMC also demanded the 30% per episode tax credit the show received from the state of Georgia while filming there.
Even that wasn't enough to make the show cheaper for AMC. The network suggested half the shooting schedule for each episode should take place indoors to save on location fees and the zombies should be heard from and not seen quite as much to save money on makeup.
-
(#5) OSHA Fined The Walking Dead’s Production Company For Being Lax On Safety Standards
Early in 2018, Stalwart Films, LLC, the production company behind The Walking Dead, was fined $12,675 by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after the on-set death of John Bernecker. After the accident, OSHA investigated the location for two weeks and concluded it warranted a "serious citation.” The fine was the maximum amount allowable for "the company’s failure to provide adequate protection from fall hazards."
Stalwart responded to the fine by saying, "We take the safety of our employees extremely seriously on all of our sets and comply with - and frequently exceed - industry safety standards. We disagree with the issuance of this citation and are considering our response."
-
(#6) Frank Darabont Filed A Lawsuit Against AMC In 2013
In 2013, Frank Darabont filed a lawsuit against AMC for a staggering $280 million for wrongful termination and the Walking Dead profits he felt he'd been cheated out of. Darabont, who has mostly been quiet about his time working on the show, said of AMC executives in 2016:
When they did rarely show up... [they would]... drive in from the airport in their air-conditioned car, race into the air-conditioned tent... poke their heads out on occasion, and half an hour later jump back in their car and fly back to their air-conditioned office in New York. I had a tremendous lack of respect for them.
-
(#7) The Cast Hated Filming The Season 7 Finale As Much As Audiences Hated Watching It
Season 7 was as rough for the cast as it was for fans. After the deaths of much-loved characters Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) and a regime change under the show's new villain Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), ratings declined for the first time in four years. Norman Reedus (who plays Daryl Dixon) agreed with fans’ Season 7 discomfort, saying:
I was saying that about the first half... You can’t make everybody happy about everything. But we try, and you have to keep the story moving forward at all times or you just tell the same story over and over again. But I know new actors that came onto this show that were like, 'Man, I miss the old group,' and they were playing new roles this season. So I know that everybody felt it.
-
(#8) Three Days After His Appearance At San Diego Comic-Con, AMC Fired Frank Darabont From The Walking Dead
Although The Walking Dead was a hit right out of the gate, AMC wanted to cut the show's budget immediately after the first season. In 2011, three days after showrunner Frank Darabont joined producers and network execs on-stage at San Diego Comic-Con to promote the upcoming season, he was fired.
Darabont, who directed films like The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, was allegedly upset with the network's intention to slash the budget. In turn, AMC was unhappy with him for "taking a feature-film approach to television."
-
(#9) A Petition Was Created To Fire Showrunner Scott Gimple After Carl Grimes's Death
Fans were so upset by Carl's death they circulated an online petition to oust showrunner Scott Gimple. The Change.org petition received over 88,000 signatures from irate viewers and claims Chandler Riggs, the actor who played Carl, postponed going to college to work on the show.
It also alleges fans "have taken to social media to express their dissagreement [sic] with Gimples [sic] decision... (and have) also expressed their feelings toward his decision calling for his immediate resignation... Gimple gave no explanation as to why Chandler was killed off, other than that it was because of 'the story.’"
-
(#10) After Darabont Was Fired, A Cast Member Asked To Be Killed Off In Protest
Actor Jeffrey DeMunn, who plays Dale Horvath in the first two seasons, wanted off the show after Frank Darabont was fired, so he asked to be killed off in solidarity. DeMunn had worked with Darabont before and they were also friends.
According to DeMunn, he knew the show would be “quality” with Darabont at the helm, and was upset by how the network treated their showrunner. DeMunn said, "I was furious about how Frank was pushed out of the show. I spent a week not being able to take a full breath. And then I realized, 'Oh, I can quit.'”
-
(#11) The Show's Producers And The Creator Of The Comic Have Sued AMC
Frank Darabont isn't the only person in litigation with AMC. Producers Glen Mazzara, David Alpert, and Gale Anne Hurd have also filed lawsuits against the network saying they were cut out of the show's profits. Walking Dead comic creator Robert Kirkman filed a lawsuit too, as alleges he was cheated out of money by AMC.
Kirkman, Hurd, and AMC have been hit by another lawsuit over the companion series to The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead. Writer Mel Smith alleges his graphic novel, Dead Ahead - in which survivors fight zombies at sea - was ripped off for Season 2. The two parties settled out of court in March 2019.
-
(#12) Lauren Cohan Left The Show After An Alleged Salary Dispute
Lauren Cohan, who had played Maggie since Season 2, allegedly left The Walking Dead when her contract ended after an impasse with AMC over her salary. She was said to be frustrated with AMC's persistent low-balling. After some back and forth between her and the network, she appeared in only a handful of Season 9 episodes and signed up as the lead in an ABC sitcom, Whiskey Cavalier.
But don't count Cohan out of The Walking Dead universe just yet! According to showrunner Angela Kang, producers have been "talking to Lauren and hopefully, we’ll get to tell more story for her... We definitely have some things up our sleeve that we’d love to do. A lot of that is just a scheduling conversation, so hopefully, that will all work out, because I think mutually we would like to continue with Maggie’s story."
-
(#13) Showrunner Frank Darabont Fired All The Writers After Season 1 And Wanted To Replace Them With Freelancers
Frank Darabont didn't shoot any episodes solely written by Walking Dead scribes during the first season. The four not originally written by him were still co-written or extensively re-written. As a result, he felt he didn't need a permanent writing team.
Darabont fired the entire writing staff and had allegedly hoped to hire freelancers for future seasons. He never got to see his idea come to fruition, however. He was fired in the middle of the second season after a series of profane emails to studio execs.
-
(#14) Michael Rooker Was Surrounding By A SWAT Team While Filming A Scene
Michael Rooker was such a convincing actor he was mistaken for a real gunman while shooting Season 1. As Merle Dixon, Rooker stood on a rooftop in Atlanta, GA, aiming a high powered rifle with a scope at walkers below.
When he starting shooting, a concerned citizen called the cops and a SWAT team arrived at the scene. The Walking Dead’s Twitter account noted, "Episode 102: An actual SWAT team showed up while shooting Merle's rooftop shooting scene. Ooooops."
-
(#15) Two Prominent Cast Members Were Slapped With DUIs
In May 2015, Seth Gilliam, who plays Father Gabriel Stokes, was arrested during production on a DUI charge in Peachtree City, GA. He faced additional charges of speeding (Gilliam was said to be driving in excess of 100 miles per hour), reckless driving, and possession of cannabis.
Gilliam wasn’t the first Walking Dead actor to get in trouble for driving under the influence. Just after production went on hiatus in August 2012, Scott Wilson - who played farmer Hershel Greene on the show - was charged with a DUI. When he was asked to perform a field sobriety test after being pulled over, the then 70-year-old actor said the road was "too slanted" for him to complete the test successfully. He asked if he could do "yoga poses" instead.
New Random Displays Display All By Ranking
About This Tool
Any successful TV series is completely inseparable from the efforts of the filming team behind the scenes. What are the interesting behind-the-scenes stories of The Walking Dead? Even the extras in The Walking Dead take every little thing very seriously. The walking dead can eat humans, and The Walking Dead has plenty of bloody and violent scenes, all of which depend on the scene arrangement and makeup artists.
The heroine Sarah Wayne Callis has often had nightmares at night since she starring this TV series, which is enough to show that behind the scenes may be as horrible as on the screen. The random tool shares 15 horror behind scenes stories of The Walking Dead.
Our data comes from Ranker, If you want to participate in the ranking of items displayed on this page, please click here.