page_title: The Walking Dead (season 2)
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: The Walking Dead (season 2) / Production
caption_attribution_description: photo © 2011 popculturegeek.com taken by Doug Kline If you're interested in higher resolution versions of my images, contact me via my profile page.
context_page_description: The second season of The Walking Dead, an American post-apocalyptic horror television series on AMC, premiered on October 16, 2011, and concluded on March 18, 2012, consisting of 13 episodes. Developed for television by Frank Darabont, the series is based on the eponymous series of comic books by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. It was executive produced by Darabont, Kirkman, Glen Mazzara, David Alpert, and Gale Anne Hurd, with Mazzara assuming the role of showrunner after Darabont's departure from the series.
  The season was well received by critics. It won Best Television Presentation at the 38th Saturn Awards and Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie, or Special at the 64th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The season finale was viewed by 9 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode of the series up to that point and the most viewed episode of an original series on AMC in history, up until the premiere of the series' third season, which was watched by 10.9 million viewers.
  This season adapts material from issues #7–12 of the comic book series and introduces notable comic characters Hershel Greene and his daughter, Maggie.
context_section_description: After the first season aired, Deadline Hollywood reported that series developer and showrunner Frank Darabont had let go the entire writing staff and planned to use only freelance writers for the second season. This turned out to be not entirely accurate, and Robert Kirkman was quoted as saying the changes to the writing staff would not affect the production of the show. In February 2011, it was announced that Glen Mazzara, who had written the first-season episode "Wildfire", had been hired again as a writer/executive producer for the second season and will put together a staff of five more writers.
  At C2E2 members of the cast confirmed that the second season would begin shooting on June 1, 2011, and that Darabont would write the season premiere episode. At the same event, cast members speculated that acclaimed author and long-time Darabont collaborator Stephen King may write an episode. Kirkman later confirmed that along with himself, Darabont and Mazzara the writing staff will consist of Scott M. Gimple, Evan Reilly, Angela Kang and one freelance writer, David Leslie Johnson. Four actors have joined the cast as new characters for season 2—Scott Wilson as Hershel Greene, Lauren Cohan as his daughter Maggie, Pruitt Taylor Vince as Hershel's ranch hand, Otis, and Michael Zegen as Randall.
  A preview of season 2 was shown during the fourth-season premiere of Breaking Bad on July 17, 2011 and a full length trailer was released to promote season 2 at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 22, 2011.
  In July 2011, Deadline Hollywood reported that Darabont stepped down from his position as showrunner for the series, amidst rumors that he was unable to adjust to the schedule of running a television series. Executive producer Glen Mazzara succeeded Darabont as showrunner for the series. Darabont's sudden departure further sparked controversy in August when The Hollywood Reporter broke a story revealing that Darabont had in fact been fired due to issues of the show's reduced budget and a strained relationship with AMC executives.
  The premiere aired in an extended 90-minute time slot, similar to the pilot episode. After the first seven episodes aired, the series went on a hiatus and returned on February 12, 2012, with the final six episodes of the season airing until its conclusion on March 18, 2012.
caption: The cast and crew of The Walking Dead at PaleyFest in 2011 (left to right): executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes), Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori Grimes), Jon Bernthal (Shane Walsh), Laurie Holden (Andrea), Steven Yeun (Glenn Rhee), and Emma Bell (Amy)
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