WALKING DEAD Showrunner Glen Mazzara on Departing the Hit Series

In an interview today with The Hollywood Reporter, Glen Mazzara, The Walking Dead showrunner who recently announced that he would be departing the AMC series, opened up about his decision to leave.

"It was really about moving forward," Mazzara tells the site on his departure. "As we were looking at bringing the story forward into season four it was clear that AMC and I were moving in different directions. We came to a mutual decision to part ways. It was a difficult decision because we're all proud of the work we've done together. It was for the best direction of the show and I'm happy with work I've done and I'm excited to develop my own stuff. My vision for the show is on the screen."

Click here to read the interview in its entirety.

Mazzara first took over the show after the first season, when Frank Darabont departed the series. Supervising producer, and former writer, Scott Gimple is set to replace Mazzara for the fourth season.

The hit AMC drama series The Walking Dead returns with all-new episodes this Sunday at 9:00 pm/ET on the cable network.

Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, The Walking Dead stars Andrew Lincoln, Laurie Holden, Steven Yeun, Norman Reedus, Chandler Riggs, Lauren Cohan, Scott Wilson, Melissa McBride, Chad Coleman, David Morrissey and Danai Gurira.