THE WALKING DEAD Showrunner Talks Season 5

Scott M. Gimple started out as a writer on AMC's The Walking Dead during season 2 and was made an "executive producer / showrunner" for season 4. Gimple followed Frank Darabont and Glenn Mazzara, who reportedly left the show over creative differences. For the time being, Gimple appears to be the right fit for the show and will probably put an end to the frequent turnover of the #1 tv show's top executive position. Recently, Gimple attended the Saturn Movie Awards, where he spoke with Collider about season 5 and how the show handles deviating from the Robert Kirkman comic book.  Said Gimple, "[Season 5's] not mirroring [the previous season] completely… The challenge of the show is every eight episodes, it’s a whole new show. I will say that there may be some slightly familiar structural turns. But for the most part, it is going to be brand new versions of the comic story."

Gimple also touched on the show's many deviations from Robert Kirkman's comic book, stating, "It’s funny – back in the day when I started season two, I was all ‘We must hem to the comic’ and Kirkman was like ‘Well – let’s have some fun. I’ve done this all before.’ I certainly won’t abandon iconic things from the comic. I definitely want to stick to the comic as much as possible but that’s also impossible with Daryl Dixon and characters that are alive but dead in the comic. There’s a butterfly effect. But that’s actually an incredibly fun part of the [show]. I would say that even the inventions we have on the show are inspired by the comic." Personally, I don't think The Walking Dead would be as popular or as interesting, if the show was a word-for-word adaptation of the comic book. Even HBO's Game of Thrones is beginning to make some major deviations from the George R.R. Martin fantasy novels. While a few of the storyline changes on The Walking Dead may have ultimately, not have been as interesting as they initially seemed when first put down on pen and paper, the air that even the faithful book readers are unsure of what will happen next, makes the show more intriguing.

Lastly, Gimple also touched on The Walking Dead spinoff currently in development at AMC. Details on the project are sparse, but previous reports indicate that the spinoff will have nothing to do with the current show. However, Gimple added, [SPOILER WARNING]"I have little to do with the spinoff… This I do know. It’s set in the world of The Walking Dead but from what I understand, it’s not like Daryl’s cousin or anything… I would never say never [to a crossover between the shows] because if I was a viewer I would say that sounds awesome. But we’re doing our own show. I also think a crossover might be tough because it would take a lot of [license] within the comic story. We’ll see. When we get to all-out war, who knows? We’ll add another faction. It’ll be the Saviors and the Hilltop and the ‘Spin-offers’."

The Walking Dead season 5 will likely return to AMC this October.