\'Walking Dead\' Gains a New Season But Its Show Runner Becomes Latest Casualty

Gene Page/AMC Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, IronE Singleton, Steven Yeun and Andrew Lincoln in a scene from Season 3 of “The Walking Dead.”

“The Walking Dead,” AMC's hit drama series about the survivors of a zombie apocalypse, will continue for another season, but not all the members of its creative team will continue on to fight the undead hordes: the cable channel said on Friday that its show runner, Glen Mazzara, was leaving the series.

In a statement announcing that it was renewing “The Walking Dead” for a fourth season, AMC said that th e network and Mr. Mazzara “have mutually decided to part ways.”

The statement continued: “AMC is grateful for his hard work. We are both proud of our shared success. Both parties acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion about where the show should go moving forward, and conclude that it is best to part ways.”

Mr. Mazzara, a former writer and producer for “Nash Bridges” and “The Shield,” became the show runner of “The Walking Dead” beginning with its second season. He replaced Frank Darabont, the writer and director of films like “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile,” who developed “The Walking Dead” from the popular comic-book series, but who was abruptly deposed from the television show amid disputes with AMC about its budget and other matters.

Under Mr. Mazarra, “The Walking Dead” broke num erous ratings records, drawing nearly 11 million viewers for the Dec. 2 episode that concluded the first half of its third season. Mr. Mazarra will continue as show runner and an executive producer of “The Walking Dead” for the remainder of its third season, which resumes on Feb. 10.

In a statement, Mr. Mazarra did not offer specifics about his disagreements with AMC about the show. He said: “My time as showrunner on ‘The Walking Dead' has been an amazing experience, but after I finish season 3, it's time to move on. I have told the stories I wanted to tell and connected with our fans on a level that I never imagined. It doesn't get much better than that. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey.”