Fear the Walking Dead showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg were at the center of backlash on Twitter after Talking Dead opened the floor for fan questions.
The typically live aftershow hosted by Chris Hardwick, usually aired after premiere episodes of Fear and The Walking Dead, has aired irregularly for Season 5: Talking Dead only reconvened for the season opener, the mid-season finale and the mid-season premiere. Chambliss and Goldberg return to the couch for the Season 5 finale Sunday, Sep. 29.
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When Talking Dead invited fans to submit their questions for the showrunners who boarded the spinoff in its fourth season, response from Fear viewers was largely negative:
What does it feel to ruin a show that was amazing?
โ Kevin Rodriguez (@KevinRF45) September 13, 2019
“How does it feel to ruin a show that was amazing?” reads the top reply. A subsequent tweet called Fear “a boring soap opera with no real direction.”
Another commenter accused Chambliss and Goldberg of “literally destroying” the show while others expressed anger over the decision to kill off former lead Madison Clark (Kim Dickens), who was replaced by Walking Dead transplant Morgan (Lennie James) as part of the first crossover between the two shows that kicked off a semi-rebooted Fear Season 4.
One user weighing in argued Fear has been destroyed “to the point of no return,” while another asked, “Why did you ruin the show?”
Others called for the return of co-creator and three-season showrunner Dave Erickson, who exited the series in 2017 when he inked a development deal with network AMC. Erickson has yet to produce another project for the cabler.
Fan reaction has worsened with each new episode. In reaction threads published by the official Walking Dead Twitter handle on Sundays, Fear often garners mixed-to-negative responses; in recent weeks, the spinoff has been called “damn boring” and “unwatchable.”
Episode 512, “Ner Tamid,” saw Fear hit a series low in viewership. But the following episode, which introduced new foes Virginia (Colby Minifie) and the Pioneers, saw a slight increase in viewers.
Despite its waning audience, Fear was officially renewed for Season 6 during San Diego Comic-Con weekend in July. It was there Chambliss and Goldberg promised a “big change” at the end of Season 5 that will “really change the show in a way that will launch us into Season 6, in a really big way.”
Elaborating on that major change in a subsequent interview, Chambliss said, “It’s something that we’re very excited about, and it’s really going to change the narrative approach of how we tell stories in Season 6.”
Fear the Walking Dead next airs its penultimate episode of Season 5 Sunday, Sep. 22 at 9/8c on AMC.
Slide 1
The fact that 98% of all comments are โquestioningโ this wild ride you are talking about should be very telling at this point ๐.
โ Julia๐ง๐ผโโ๏ธ (@Julia_Rayleigh) September 13, 2019
Is season 6 going to be trash like season 4 and 5?
โ Kevin Rodriguez (@KevinRF45) September 13, 2019
Why are you literally destroying this show?
โ Ninjawarrior1245 (@NW1245) September 13, 2019
โ BringbacktherealFTWD (@Bringbackthere1) September 13, 2019
When these two took over I thought they did a good job pulling this show back on track. When Morgan had the group ready to head towards Alexandria, thatโs what people want to see… but now itโs just a boring soap opera with no real direction.
โ Adam (@ThePghCheeze) September 13, 2019
Slide 2
Itโs so hard to watch right now, I donโt like how you wrote the characters, theyโre just not themselves anymore. So many nonsense behaviors and things inside. And according to the comments under this tweet, Iโm not the only one who doesnโt like the way Fear became after s3.
โ Barbara ๐ฎ๐น (@Stellix82) September 14, 2019
why did you ruin the show?
โ Elisabeth๐ฉ๐ก๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐น๐ฉ๐ช๐บ๐ธ #IStandWithTaylor (@badandstrong) September 13, 2019
why did you ruin the show? We want to see killing and drama. The show is called ‘FEAR’ for a reason, it’s supposed to be scary.
โ Marc (@johnwildtail_) September 14, 2019
That’s the issue. No one wants to listen to us! These 2 obviously think they are somehow doing a fan-fucking-tastic job running this show! The show is shit now! ๐ฉ
โ Krys (@22_kryst) September 15, 2019
โ sam ๐โจ (@lexaswife) September 13, 2019
Slide 3
Why does this show suck now?
โ Johnny Forte (@ForteCloud) September 14, 2019
Why did you guys need to ruin what was once a great show?
โ Andrew Story (@andrewstory26) September 14, 2019
How it feels ruining an amazing show and great characters, especially female characters? *cough* Alicia Clark *cough* Luciana Galvez.
โ Guada Vicky (@GuadaQuis) September 13, 2019
How you guys got this job? When are you gonna get fired?
Btw:โคต pic.twitter.com/XcfwcI3jpn
How can anyone consider the current iteration of this series, good ? It is simply unwatchable. What a waste of great actors.
โ Lisa87120 (@lisa87120) September 14, 2019
It feels like #FTWD has lost any plot. It seems built around gimmicks and tricks vs story line/character development. Please get back to making us care about the characters and their plights/paths.
โ Jane Allen (@JMAsays) September 15, 2019
Slide 4
+ How does it feel to have broken so many loyal fans’ hearts??
โ Fran (@frankflores111) September 13, 2019
And finally. When are you gonna fire those people and bring Dave back? Of hire someone who will not kill this show? Because S6 will tank even more if they stay. Fucking do something for once and donโt ignore people! Just fire them already for fucks sake!
โ Nick Aaron (@MischiefMaker4) September 13, 2019
Any particular reason you’ve made this show a parody of itself? Beer bottle blimp, propeller zombie mulcher, house surrounded by land mines… take your pick. Character development is dead in favor of gimmicks. WHY?!?
โ JK Callaway (@jkCallawayYAY) September 15, 2019
Slide 5
How do you both still have a job ?
โ Saif AH (@SaifAH0) September 13, 2019
Are there talks behind the scenes about removing these two clowns of show runners?
โ Even StevenYT (@EvenStevenYT) September 13, 2019
Can we just have Dave Erickson back?
โ Kristy (@Kristy52694449) September 13, 2019
Why did they hate #FearTWD so much that they had to destroy it with such awful writing and directing? Can they watch the show themselves without laughing hysterically? Do they possess an ounce of self awareness? Do they know how bad they are at running a show? #TalkingDead
โ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ช (@Fawn_Liebowitz) September 13, 2019
Slide 6
Friend: What happened in Fear season 5?
โ BringbacktherealFTWD (@Bringbackthere1) September 14, 2019
Me: pic.twitter.com/a3ibmXd47T
How does it feel to take a show that hit its peak in S3 and completely trash it? You come in and just reboot the damn show and kill of Madison so you can replace her with fucking Morgan! When the fuck are you getting fired? Cuz S6 will be even worse with you on board!
โ Nick Aaron (@MischiefMaker4) September 13, 2019
Clearly watching a different show. It’s been boring as hell. #FTWD
โ Patrick McDonough (@dieselking69) September 13, 2019
Do either of you realize how terrible this show has gotten under your writing and ideas?
โ TheRyanKing๐ฅ (@GetGot01) September 13, 2019
Slide 7
Fear TWD isnt good anymore you know? It’s fucking atrocious ๐
โ ๐Carzi | Madison๐ (@carzicarzekiel) September 13, 2019
#BringBackMadison
โ floW (@WoIfen) September 13, 2019
I also miss Nick (Frank) but I don’t blame him one bit for wanting out after reading the rest of the season script.
How is it possible that BOTH of you thought this season of #FearTWD was a good idea?#TalkingDead
โ โฌ๏ธ (@lolobye) September 13, 2019
Slide 8
Its one of the poorly written shows this year. Its unwatchable. What are they doing!
โ Sin Rostro ๐ฅ (@houseofheda) September 13, 2019
Are they doing the show for free or are they seriously getting paid for it.
how incompetent do you have to be to write a show so terribly?
โ jay ๐ (@regrettedtweet) September 13, 2019
I want to know when those two are quitting. Thatโs the least they can do for destroying a show with so much potential and cool characters.
โ Tanagariel (@Tanagariel) September 13, 2019
Thank you for making me stop watching and wasting my time, I forced myself to watch season 4 but daaamn season 5 was the last nail in the coffin ,bye .
โ Jil (@LtJila) September 13, 2019
Slide 9
Donโt you guys see how mad fans are? You will NEVER mention this. But we KNOW youโll all see it. The show got destroyed and fans are outraged. Never seen this much hate since Carl was killed!! Bring back Erickson! Bring back Madison! You guys have to do something to fix this!
โ Grevorr (@grevorr) September 15, 2019
Are the showrunners aware how, under their leadership, the show has become an unintelligible slog to get through, week to week?
โ daddyknowsbest2065 (@daddyknowsbes11) September 15, 2019
Please STOP with all the boring episodes! Absolutely terrible! I seriously have to force myself to watch because I want to believe itโs going to get better, but so far it hasnโt.
โ Mechelle (@shelbydjr) September 13, 2019
I donโt see how these two do NOT care what we think when itโs a HUGE majority. Like you need to CARE what is fans want. What we need. Itโs so sad that you do not show any care to make this show what Erickson and Kirkman made it to be. You pretty much made a new spin off with Fear
โ Grevorr (@grevorr) September 15, 2019
Big fan of TWD and FTWD. Fear is straight up awful, and unwatchable. This show is “Dead Zombie Walking “.
โ Crypto Coles (@Earlcoles1) September 15, 2019
Slide 10
Sign and retweet this petition please https://t.co/KXv39GZoeC
โ Kristy (@Kristy52694449) September 15, 2019
I’ve stopped watching unfortunately just failed to muster interest
โ Creyson Buckman (@ihavejewlocksss) September 15, 2019
โ Mick (@TheMickNY) September 14, 2019