Two friends of The Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara have blamed comic creator Robert Kirkman for Mazzara’s exit (see "Another Showrunner Leaves 'The Walking Dead'"), according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Showrunners Shawn Ryan and Kurt Sutter, neither associated with the show but both associated with Mazzara, have made public comments citing conflict with Kirkman, a producer on the show, for Mazzara’s departure. 

A tweet from Sutter (Sons of Anarchy) said AMC had sent him "a gift basket filled with broken promises and the marinated tongue used to lick Kirkman’s ***."  Kirkman responded with "@sutterink is brilliant and Sons is my favorite show on TV.  Still it’s upsetting to see him ranting about things he knows nothing about."

The Hollywood Reporter cited sources indicating that Kirkman was "very proprietary" about the property and that caused problems with Mazzara, while noting that others said that Kirkman wasn’t the only producer having problems with Mazzara.

It was a safe bet that something was up when the second showrunner in a year and a half left the show.  Whatever the reasons, we can only hope the ratings and sales juggernaut that is The Walking Dead will not be derailed by the problems.