“The Walking Dead” and “Boardwalk Empire” were easily two of the most successful new shows launched last year on AMC and HBO, respectively. And while both series earned early second season pickups, they may also have significantly smaller budgets to work with when they come back.
During The Hollywood Reporter’s annual drama showrunner Emmy roundtable, “Walking Dead” showrunner Frank Darabont indicated that the adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s zombie epic may be facing some adverse affects thanks to the network’s attempts to slash the budget.
“Creatively I have no complaints thus far,” noted Darabont. “But I believe if they do move ahead with [the budget] they’re talking about, it will affect the show creatively … in a negative way. Which just strikes me as odd. If you have an asset, why would you punish it?”
Darabont also stated “They count on your loyalty to your crew and to your cast as leverage against you.”
This isn’t the first time that “The Walking Dead” has been linked to budget cuts. The departure of almost the entire writing staff last fall was rumored to be a cost cutting move; which was ultimately denied as a motivation by Darabont’s fellow executive producer, Gale Anne Hurd.
As for “Boardwalk Empire,” Terrence Winter noted “I think in the idea of trying to contain the budget and contain the scope of the show, you have those suggestions, “can’t we do many more interiors? Looking at some of the proposed cuts – the wishlist for the budget, I had to remind people the show is called ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and we can’t afford a boardwalk or an empire for that price.”
However, Howard also reiterated his happiness with HBO’s creative support thus far.
“It’s a blessing to work there,” said Winter. “I’ve been [at HBO] since 1999 and they’ve been tremendously creatively supportive.”
How do you feel about slashing the budgets for “The Walking Dead” and “Boardwalk Empire”? Let us know in the comment section below!
