Oh, did I mention that the plane crash was “MYSTERIOUS?” Because AMC sure did.

In investigating the crash, his life begins to slowly unravel, thus confirming that it is, in fact an AMC show. No news on who the actor playing Lewis Bernt, NTSB investigator is, but I would hazard a guess it will be someone awesome. Perhaps the girl that plays Sally Draper. Everyone likes her!

Here we’ve got a still featuring Walt seemingly pleading with Jesse, with Jesse looking all, “Talk to the hand girlfriend.” Or maybe he’s looking all, “I ate too much Lotaburger, and I was supposed to cleanse today. I hate myself.”

In any event, one guy looks desparate and one guy looks nonplussed, which makes this still no different than every other frame of film that’s manifested itself in seasons 1-4.5.

Here’s the pic. LET THE GREAT EXPERIMENT BEGIN!

I’m on board. Of all the characters I’d like to examine after the mothership runs its course, Saul takes the cake. The half-hour rumor is also promising, as I don’t know if audiences could stomach 60 minutes of smarm. 30 sounds nice, though.

Bob Odenkirk is a comic actor with a distinguished resume, so let’s hope that producer Vince Gilligan gets the itch and gets this thing going so that we don’t have to leave this world just yet.

The series is set in 1847, so it will also appeal to all those fans of English period pieces that also love watching high-budget action TV in which the protagonists get ripped to pieces. That is to say, it will appeal to everyone.

The Terror will be based on a 2007 novel of the same name, so, at the very least, this story might turn you on to a pretty cool book. If you’re the type of person that can or wants to read.

To give you some flavor, here’s a little teaser from Freakshow, a reality program that follows Todd Ray, who runs a group of freaks (that can’t be the politically correct term) that operate down on the Venice Boardwalk in LA.

Take a look and see what you think. It premieres on Valentine’s Day…because of all the romance.

The show isn’t just performing well when benchmarked to cable, but its draw with viewers 18-49 is outperforming network fare like Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, and other shows that are far worse and don’t feature zombie epidemics as plot points.

This development leads us to the conclusion that a show on cable will not always underperform compared to those on networks, provided that the cable show has zombies. Always bet on the show with zombies, even if it’s a webisode on McSweeney’s or something.

Better bobble Saul.

No pictures are available, but close your eyes, and you can imagine what these magnificent bastards look like. Pretty chic, no?

After a decent response to its airing of the pilot episode in black-and-white in July, The Walking Dead will be running its first two seasons in all that colorless wonder in February, according to showrunner Glen Mazzara.

Having not seen the black-and-white pilot, I wonder if the absence of color lends the show any more gravity, as we all suspect it would. Entertainment often seems more important and iconic when drained of its color. I’m sure this holds true for The Walking Dead, too. At least until T-Dog shows up and goes “Aww hell no!” when he sees a zombie.

Then the show will go back to seeming pretty unimportant.

But then we’ll see Daryl do something awesome in black-and-white, and the show will feel important again.

And back and forth, up and down, like bubbles in a lava lamp until the show is cancelled.

(Well, most of the revolutionaries were British, so let’s try it again.)

And they’re not even British LOYALISTS.

(Shit. That wasn’t deft at all.)

AMC has announced a departure from its lead-balloon heavy programming to bring us a comedy set in colonial times, which should be boffo for my tri-corner hat Etsy shop.

If you want a serious take on it, read it at Deadline here. A nation is curious to see what AMC does with comedy, and exactly how absurd this show is, given the subject matter. Period piece comedies aren’t exactly hot these days, so how it plays out is anyone’s guess. Is it going to be like the Always Sunny adventure “The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell,” or is it going to be a little more stodgy in its character.

Only time, or a press release, will tell.

It’s all about Breaking Bad, you see.

I’m betting this real Walter White doesn’t have a cool alias like Heisenberg, but I have a feeling he might actually total America sports cars just for fun. That seems like it could be a possibility. If this guy isn’t walking the red carpet for the premiere of the back half of season five, I’mma be pissed.

Basically, the obstacle course will give visitors a chance to experience a zombie attack in a safe and judgment-free setting. You pay $70 to be chased by zombies through an obstacle course. Sound steep? Well, maybe you’d prefer to play as a zombie instead, where the goal is to spread the “infection” as much as possible through physical contact. No biting.

It’s not known what other obstacles will make up the obstacle course – it seems to me that any obstacle course that includes zombies doesn’t have much to worry about on the obstacle front. I mean, isn’t “zombie” pretty much the ultimate obstacle? Even without the biting?

The season will be split in two segments, with eight episodes airing starting in July ’12, then a looooooong wait to watch the final eight episodes of the series in July ’13.

Also, it would appear that Walt and Jess are free and clear, so there’s probably nothing else that will go wrong. You know, sixteen episodes of tying up lose ends, and everyone getting closure and mulling over the lessons they’ve learned along the way.

And, God willing, some more Mike the Cleaner. Lots more Mike the Cleaner.

The addition of Friday Night Lights star Plemons to the cast of the acclaimed AMC drama comes seemingly minutes after it was announced that his network TV show, Bent, had been cancelled. On Breaking Bad, Plemons will play a guy named Todd who is “a dependable, innocuous, working-class guy,” which we all know on Breaking Bad means that he’s going to end up killing babies and putting his whole family in danger.

Of course, Plemons is not stranger to complicated criminal conspiracies, after his Landry character killed Tyra’s stalker in one of the most contrived and disappointing TV subplots of my life. Maybe they’ll just redo that whole storyline for Breaking Bad, where it won’t seem quite so ridiculous. Also…

Crucifictorious.

The Tweet reads:

“a few weeks before cameras roll on season 5. I cant wait. I love doing this show and will miss it when its time to say goodbye. Airs in July.”

So there you have it. Hard to misinterpret. Though this isn’t an official announcement, but it’s sort of like if Tom Hanks told you that you had a little food on your lip – you’d believe it, wouldn’t you?

So put your trust in Bryan “Cranst” Cranston, and get your popcorn ready!*

(*You only need to start preparing your Breaking Bad popcorn now if you really suck at making popcorn.)

Every episode of the zombie apocalypse drama will air beginning December 31st at 11 am with the pilot episode. Then end with the second season’s mid-season finale airing at midnight. It’s the perfect way to catch up or refresh yourself on the series if you didn’t get the Blu-Rays for the holiday. It’s sure to inspire your New Year’s Resolution. 2012 To-Do: Don’t become a zombie. (THR)

That last one is because their lab is 500 feet from an elementary school… and the Somerville City Hall. Almost hard to believe that they got caught.

Predictably, Kristy is on leave from Suffolk University while this gets sorted out. Unpredictably, she’s not on leave from Boston University, presumably because they consider meth labs near elementary schools a personal matter that they have no right to get involved in.

One large distinction between the show and this story is that Kristy is a professor in math, not chemistry, so I’m guessing that her product is shitty. But I won’t be able to really speak to that until I try it.

Ok. The difference itself may not be mind-blowing, but the fact that the trend of rising ticket prices is reversing is saying something. Namely that audiences are less willing to see movies if they’re really expensive. (I don’t even have an economics degree. I just figured that out. Swear to God.)

However, don’t get too excite that prices are falling across the board. This figure is likely just an indication that people are less willing to pony up for 3D films than they used to be, and your standard ticket prices are the same unreasonably-high bullshit they’ve always been.

But this could send a message to theater owners (theaters set ticket prices, not studios) that people aren’t willing to pay what they once were. The 3D novelty has worn off, and attending movies, especially in big cities, is becoming cost-prohibitive.

Do I propose some sort of global candy-smuggling initiative aimed at letting theater owners know that the only way we’re willing to absorb higher ticket prices is if we do so with pockets full of Pretzel M&M’s and gray-market Red Vine?

Yup. That’s what I’m doing right now. First person to put a good name to this movement in the comments gets the satisfaction of knowing they helped change the world.

Not only has the show set records domestically, but its international roll out has been equally impressive, hopefully quelling some of this off-season’s concerns about budget cuts going forward. The word is that AMC took some money earmarked for The Walking Dead and purposed it for Mad Men, which is pretty silly, considering Mad Men doesn’t even have awesome zombie characters or gnarly post-apocalyptic sets.

While this announcement ensures the security of the show, nothing has been done to address the continued gripes of fans that the writing and the characters have not improved since the maligned, but successful first season. Perhaps they’ll just say, “To hell with it,” after news of the renewal and spend more money on zombie action, which is what the people want anyway.

Why would he be so awful and mean and deny us this one thing? THIS ONE THING!

Romero went on record as saying, “Listen, I love Frank [Darabont], I know he’s done a good job. I love the books, I never watched any of the episodes because… my zombies are sort of my own. I didn’t want to be part of it. ”

What a jerk.

He views his zombies as more of a “natural disaster” than the looming, malignant threat that many storytellers today have adopted. For this reason, he’s content letting the Darabont-less team behind The Walking Dead have at it.

I guess it’s not really that big a loss, because unless Romero could write multi-dimensional characters and non-wooden dialogue for The Walking Dead, he really wouldn’t be able to help them out.

As season 4 of Breaking Bad races to a close, we are left with a feeling that there will be a fair amount of blood shed not only in Sunday’s season finale, but in the subsequent 16 episodes, which are to be split over two truncated seasons.

With the expectation of death and mayhem right around the corner, it’s hard to know who to throw your weight behind in this free-for-all. In a show this gray, there are no audience favorites, as allegiances change as quickly as the characters themselves do. So, rather than track the evolution of these characters to see where and how they end up (if they make it through the next episode), let’s take a look at where they all stand right now to figure out who we want to live and who we want to die. Let’s get going. We don’t have much time before Sunday’s finale

Who We Want To Live…

4. Saul

Saul’s been a very nice spice used throughout the show, a very unexpected voice of reason and advice to both Jesse and Walt. Remarkably in his line of work, he hasn’t screwed any of them over and has stayed true to his word when no one else has. Despite having teetered on the verge of becoming drug kingpins, Walt and Jesse still rely heavily on Saul for his criminal connections.

Beyond Saul’s practical applications, he’s hilarious. A sleazy lawyer who flirts with the stereotype without becoming a caricature. Does Saul deserve to die? Maybe. But I hope he doesn’t.

3. Hank

Unequivocally, the one guy that does not deserve to die is Hank. Sure, he started off the season as a miserable, self-pitying bastard, but it fortunately proved to be a brief phase as he found renewed purpose and satisfaction from his calling, even if it meant going rogue for the second half of the season.

He’s been both friend and family to many on the show, even suffering through Walt’s…well, just suffering through Walt. He’s a dork, but he’s proven to be killer detective with more than a little courage and determination. Sure, it might prove to be his downfall, but he’s the one principal on this show that doesn’t deserve to die for one reason or another.

2. Jesse

Jesse seems to be the only character that is learning from his mistakes on this show. Granted, he’s had a lot of help from virtually every character in doing so, but while everyone else seems boxed in by the decisions they’ve made, Jesse seems to (at least for now) control his own destiny. His arc has taken him from an ineloquent child to a still-ineloquent professional criminal with a moral code superior to anyone else’s on Breaking Bad.

1. Mike

Let’s get beyond the fact that Mike is pretty much the only likable guy on the show. Even if it wasn’t for that fact, Mike does most of the heavy lifting, so we keep following Mike for the action and the inherent comic relief that follows. That’s not to say that criminal activity would stop if Mike was rubbed out, but the little asides with Mike’s errands always to me feel like their own little vignettes. Like “The Adventures of Mike and the Asian Couple Held Hostage” or “Mike Vs. The Two Men Hijacking the Truck.”

Additionally, Mike is a free agent, so there’s no way on knowing what his allegiances are, beyond the almighty dollar. As long as Mike’s in play, you never know if he’ll be representing Saul, Jesse, Gus, Walt, or maybe even his own interests, though we have little to know idea what those could be. As the power shifts, a big piece of the puzzle is “Who gets Mike?” so I’m in no hurry to see him go away.

And, as I said, he’s pretty much the only likable guy on the show.

And Who We Want To Die…

4. Gus

Gus’ presence on the show is indicative of the masterful restraint that allow Breaking Bad to pull us back and forth like so many willful marionettes. I don’t want Gus to die due to this fact, but I feel like Gus must for the show to make its next evolution. He’s put himself in a situation which, barring some sort of crazy-unforeseen diplomatic action, will result in either his death or the deaths of Walt or Hank. Since I like Hank, and am hoping that lung cancer eventually does in our protagonist, that leaves Gus on the chopping block. He’s had a hell of a run, but it’s pretty clear that he’s painted himself into a corner.

3. Tyrus

Now, I don’t out-and-out hate Tyrus. I like his silent presence in so many scenes, in fact. But I want blood, dammit. Lots of blood. And since there are a few people who I badly want to see through this mess, that leaves a few on the bubble. Tyrus is a bubble boy. I’ve spent the past five minutes debating whether or not it’s illogical to want Tyrus dead because he seems to lack compassion. Does Gus lack compassion? Do Walt or Mike? I think they do. But so far, Tyrus has been little more than a robot without Mike’s charm or even his gruff demeanor.

If I don’t care if he lives or dies, that means I want him to die.

2. Marie

Does she deserve to die? I can safely say that, yes, she is so annoying that she deserves to die. While she has proven herself more helpful during Hank’s incapacitation, I can’t just let go of the stink she made over the whole “Walt smoking weed” theory in season one. It was downright painful. Further, she’s a thief. Granted she only steals stupid things like tiaras and vacation photos from open houses, but that’s somehow worse in my book. Because it’s just so damn annoying.

She’s in harm’s way just being close to Hank, so I’m prepared to see her taken as leverage. Then shot twice in the head.

1. Holly

That’s right. I want Walt’s baby girl to die. Not for the shock value of it all (though it would probably be the most shocking moment of television ever), but because Breaking Bad CAN do this. Gus is a stone cold animal, and he’s proven himself capable of killing children, or anyone who gets in his way, before. Holly hasn’t contributed shit to the show, Gus caused Walt to miss her birth, so her untimely death would serve as a very fitting bookend to this era of Walt’s life, making both he and Skyler victims of their own bad decisions.

Only then will the bad truly be “broken.”

I have no idea what that means, but it makes for a nice little bow on the piece, doesn’t it?

Or maybe it will be no one. All we really know for sure is that sh*t is going to go down and the likelihood is that if someone is killed, it’s going to be ugly. In honor of this, here’s a recap of Breaking Bad’s goriest death scenes. How do these get past the censors?

Gonzo

When planning your next drug deal, you might want to consider conducting your business in an isolated junkyard. However, you should be aware of the dangers. For instance, should the necessity to hide a body arise you must be careful in where you stash it. Naturally a demolished car would be the first place you’d think of, but be careful that you aren’t putting yourself in harm’s way. Gonzo didn’t heed this warning and ended up bleeding out after getting his arm pinned beneath a falling car.

Tortuga

It’s important to do your best no matter where you work. Whether it be for an entertainment blog or the Mexican cartel. Especially true for the cartel. Tortuga was a drug runner (and informant) who moved too slowly for the tastes of his employers. Rather than receiving a pink slip, he was decapitated. Then his head was glued to an exploding tortoise. Keep them legs up!

Krazy-8

Walt’s first hands-on kill remains one of the most haunting. After deciding to free the imprisoned Krazy-8, Hank realizes that the man is planning to kill him with a broken plate shard. He then does what has to be done and chokes the man with a bicycle lock and kills his innocence along with him.

So, without further delay, enjoy the Gifs. And by the way, the gif with the Bruce Willis head is on page 4, so deal with it.

Click ‘Next Page’ to continue…

The first six episodes of season two will go on as planned, but the back six will be delayed two-and-a-half months. Now, disappointing or not, this is probably a pretty sound strategy on behalf of the producers. Firstly, it’s silly to fault them for wanting to delay the second half in order to put out the best product they can in light of past writing shake-ups and showrunner Frank Darabont‘s abrupt departure. Secondly, it’s not like The Walking Dead is running a 22-episode season. They have a scant twelve episodes this season, up from six last season. During the barren month of December, I’m sure they’re not clamoring to have their show competing with holiday parties, family functions, and vacations, especially with a Sunday night timeslot.

So get disappointed, but don’t get mad. This sounds like the right move.

So what can The Walking Dead do better this time around?

Considering the lion’s share of the complaints about the program have stemmed from substandard writing, let’s start there. While the show certainly tells a rich story, and the effects and production values are beyond reproach (at least in this writer’s opinion), the weakest links have been incredibly wooden dialogue, heavy-handed exposition, and comically one-dimensional characters.

Fortunately, these are easier fixes than many other aspects of the show. A show will only be as compelling as its characters, who in this case…haven’t been. We began the first season with a cast of characters that were best described as “Sheriff’s Deputy,” “Deputy’s friend,” “wife and son,” “old guy,” “sister #1,” “sister #2,” “black dude,” and “Asian kid,” “redneck brother #1,” and “redneck brother #2.” Forgive me for omitting a few, but you get the idea. Ideally, as the season progressed, we were to be treated to a backstory and go beyond the most superficial descriptions.

It didn’t happen.

By the end of season one, we were short a sister, and a redneck was short a hand, but beyond that, we had no more knowledge about any character than we did when we began. The only compelling character study we got (and then only mildly so) was the scientist in the finale, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be turning up in season two.

I understand that six episodes is a small window in which to hit the ground running, engage a fickle audience on a as-then-still-unestablished network, and provide a decent story arc, but the lack of depth given to these characters is borderline negligent, especially considering how much time those characters spent just sitting around talking.

"I told you I could fit my nose in your ear."

A longer season two and the establishment of a cohesive writing staff affords the producers the opportunity to tell us more about these characters. Sure, the masses don’t want exposition infringing on their bloody zombie warfare, but the greatest attribute of The Walking Dead is that it’s as much about the people as it is the situation. Without getting us to care about the survivors, the show is squandering its largest asset.

Then there’s the dialogue. Oh, that crappy dialogue. The solution here is more tactical than strategic. The dialogue throughout the first season was so-matter-of-fact and stereotypical that it almost feels like you’re rooting (or not) for cardboard cutouts, rather than people. Clearly, the first response here is simply “hire better writers,” but beyond that, the decision to reject Darabont’s impulse to simply farm out writing details to freelancers was a necessity to fix this problem. The same staff will become familiar with and take a sense of ownership in the characters in a way that freelance contributors never could. That said, they’ve still got a job to do, so let’s see if they’re up to the task.

The other outstanding issues with the show are largely contingent on the writing problems, so if the ship can be righted in that regard, my other complaints will largely disappear. For instance, even though the first season was only six episodes, the pacing was at times painfully slow. Sitting around camp. Sitting around the CDC. Sitting around camp again. These pauses can be used effectively to enrich the characters and give viewers a breather from the action (“Fly” in season three of Breaking Bad is a perfect example.) However, if the writers can’t get their house in order, the producers best move to a more action-oriented approach to the story, which would play to the shows gory strengths. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to this, but so far, the pauses in action have done little to progress the plot and have created neither sympathy nor empathy for the characters.

Similarly, the drama between the protagonists has fallen way short of the excitement created by “man vs. zombies.” We are all expecting Merle to come back, so let’s hope when he does, there’s a lot more to his character and conflict than we saw in the second and third episodes of season one.

Despite these criticisms, The Walking Dead is a good show that I enjoy more than I probably should. Season one proved it’s a long way from the potential created by both the source material and outstanding production design. I want The Walking Dead to be a great show, which is within reach, but this relies on some significant improvements. It’s the third-best show on AMC, and likely won’t crack the top two anytime soon, but it can do a lot better than it has with some pretty easy fixes.

Seriously, if these clips are a gauge of what audiences are in store for when the show returns, it would appear to be more man vs. zombie scenarios and fewer of the man vs. man conflicts that brought to the forefront the admittedly weak writing and character development.

Just so we’re clear: Anyone have a problem with a lot more zombie action in season 2 of The Walking Dead?

Perfect.

(Check Out More Gif Recaps)

The show began with a similar shot in the back of a refrigerated truck. In fact, for a moment I thought I was watching a rerun. But soon enough, I realized that Mike was nowhere to be found, and two hired goons has taken his place. That’s lucky for Mike.

As expected, the cartel attacks the truck, killing the driver. But unlike their previous attempt, they weren’t taking any chances. Rather than opening the doors and risking a bullet to the face, the henchmen decided to reroute the truck’s exhaust into the trailer, lock the doors, and wait for anyone inside to expire.

And despite the fact that they had no trouble wasting the driver, the cartel thugs weren’t about to let the driver’s lunch go to waste.

Click here for more Gif Recaps.

Walt

With Jesse in trouble, Walt sprung into action, racing down to Los Pollos Hermanos to confront Gus. Unfortunately, Gus was nowhere to be found, and Walt was helpless to save his friend.

Back at the lab, Jesse’s absence was undeniable. Walt might be a whiz at cooking meth, but he’s a novice at operating heavy machinery.

As time wore on, frustration finally boiled over, and Walt refused to work, claiming the job was a two man operation. But rather than relent and produce Jesse, Gus simply sent one of his cronies to help Walt.

(Click Here For More Gif Recaps)

That’s not to say that last night’s episode was bad or devoid of story. And I’m not suggesting that the show should insert violence for violence’s sake. I’m just saying that is was relatively calm for a show about drug dealers.

Jesse Pinkman

Things are not going well for Jesse Pinkman. At work, he assures Walt that everything is going fine, and even suggests that the two hit up the Go Kart track to let off some steam. When Walt declines, Jesse goes alone, but doesn’t seem to enjoy himself all that much, unless, of course, you feel that driving around a track while screaming in rage is enjoyable.

“One of the things that really caught me is it’s just so American, the idea of a tent city that packs up and moves,” said series creator Tony Gayton. “It’s violent and it’s given to vice and gambling but there’s churches there.”

‘Hell On Wheels’ Gives AMC Its Own ‘Deadwood’

A modern western show with all the ugliness of post-Civil War America, on cable no less, is going to be compared to Deadwood. Gayton knows one way Hell on Wheels will stand out.

“The language in Deadwood was beautiful but stylized,” he continued. “I think there’s a more naturalistic dialogue in this. We’re servicing so many different accents – the south, Irish laborers, Norwegians and Germans as the show develops – it really is like Hell’s kitchen in there.”

Gayton’s brother Joe, who created the show with him, joked, “If there are favorable comparisons to Deadwood, we’ll take them.” Then added, “We’ve called this an eastern as opposed to a western. It really was about dragging this almost urban ghetto across the prairie and industrializing this country. In terms of the look too, we have the iconic western images, the panoramas, the wide shots. Down in the train and our steam driven sawmill and the prostitutes and workers, in there it’s that world but we never lose sight of that great western vista is always out there.”

Deadwood was a gritty western, and Hell plays it real too. Its look should stand out just by the way it is filmed though. “Part of it is just the design of the color palette with the costumer and set designer and DP,” Tony Gayton said. “A lot is done in timing and post production, the way they plan it out to start with and some of it is post production. We talked to David von Ancken, director of the pilot, about the way we wanted this to look. He talked about painting with dirt. It’s a beautiful light source. It was either the sun or a single point light source, a candle or lantern. It gives you beautiful light, even the way filth is on the canvas tents and light filters through.”

Bohannan is a former slave owner, so working with the freed work force will raise many issues throughout the series. Mount took it seriously, with a wink. “I think it’d be a mistake if it fell into the PC groove of oh, the white guy and black guy are going to be buddies now. We keep making Silver Streak jokes on set. That really wouldn’t be the way to go. I wouldn’t say Cullen’s operating out of guilt. That’s just the way of the world. He’s not apologizing for it. Because of their different agendas, I don’t think Culluen’s used to an outspoken black man and I don’t think Elam cares how he feels. It comes to a boil in an episode coming out.”

Elam is the lead black worker, at least the one we get to know in the pilot, played by Common. “In the pilot, what you feel is my character is like man, I’m taking this opportunity to go out here and try to change my life and then here it goes again,” Common said. “Cullen represents here it goes again, the boss who’s not too different from a slave master in my eyes. That conflict comes there a little bit but there’s something I respect about him. I see our relationship evolving as things happen. It’s not that we’re buddy buddies. It’s that tension that exists, that exists with some people now. You like someone, have a certain affinity to them but still have some walls up.”

Hell on Wheels introduces some Native American characters too, but detailed storylines about them may have to wait. “I think the Native American story is something that will probably, hopefully knock on wood, in season two we’ll start servicing more,” Tony Gayton said.

Hell on Wheels premieres Nov. 6 on AMC.

“We are announcing the return of season 5 and 6,” Stillerman said. “Matt and his incredible team are in the writer’s room breaking stories. Production starts Monday, August 8.”

As an added bonus, Jon Hamm will lend his handsomeness behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera as Don Draper. “Jon Hamm will be making his directorial debut for the season premiere of episode 5,” Stillerman added.

'The Walking Dead' Trailer: It's Still About Zombies

Stillerman still wouldn’t say why Darabont left though. “I don’t have much to add to the circumstances of it. I really mean what I say when I say Frank’s contribution to the series was invaluable and he’s a brilliant writer/director. We have full confidence in the team moving forward.”

For The Killing fans, season two promises to resolve the mystery of the first season. “I think the major takeaway for us after the finale of The Killing starts with the headline that for everybody who was frustrated, we hear you. If we had to do anything differently, we would certainly have taken a different approach to managing expectations within that season. I can tell you it was never intentionally meant to mislead anyone. Our goal was to create a brilliant piece of character-based storytelling. Veena Sud has an incredible vision for that show. Her writer’s room for season two opens next month and we’re incredibly excited about what’s coming down the pike. You will find out who killed Rosie Larson in season two definitively.”

More on AMC’s new series Hell on Wheels with the cast and creators soon.