Glen Mazzara will replace Frank Darabont as the showrunner of AMC's "The Walking Dead," a person close to the show confirms to TheWrap.
Mazzara, a former executive producer of "HawthoRNe" and "The Shield," joined "Walking Dead" for the second season of the critically acclaimed, hit zombie drama, which debuts Oct. 16.
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The hiring comes after the surprise exit of Darabont, screenwriter and director for 1994's "The Shawshank Redemption," as showrunner. It remained unclear Wednesday whether he would remain with the series in another capacity.
Darabont had just appeared at the Comic-Con panel for the series on Friday, with fellow executive producer Robert Kirkman and series stars Andrew Lincoln, John Bernthal and Sarah Wayne Callies.
Darabont's exit and Mazzara's promotion were first reported by Deadline.com.