Frank Darabont

CHICAGO – While the entire story has not been fully revealed, the fact still remains that AMC’s hottest series has lost its showrunner. Frank Darabont, head writer and producer of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” as well as director of films such as “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile,” has walked away from the hit zombie series after only one completed season.

CHICAGO – The series premiere of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” was the best horror movie of 2010 and the best single episode of television that year. Director Frank Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption”) brilliantly distilled a lifetime of zombie fandom into one beautiful character-driven piece that not only provided the chills of the genre but proved that the series would be dramatically rich as well. The living were as interesting as the dead. And now the first season, only six episodes long, is available in a beautiful 2-disc Blu-ray set. Don’t miss one of the best shows of 2010.

CHICAGO – AMC has become a major player on the television scene thanks to the multiple awards won by “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad.” As they expanded this year with “Rubicon” and this weekend’s “The Walking Dead,” the question was whether or not the pool would be diluted as it got bigger.

On Nov. 6, I joined a conference call on “The Mist” with director Frank Darabont (“The Green Mile,” “The Shawshank Redemption”), Marcia Gay Harden (“Rails & Ties”), Thomas Jane (“The Punisher”) and Chris Owen (“American Pie”).

In what could be the best Stephen King quote ever, I heard word Tuesday morning that he said the following at a press conference on Monday about “The Mist,” which is based on his novella: