Fear the Walking Dead has been on the air for five years now, and it looks like it’s reached the point where it’s angered a swath of its fan base. Digital Spy reports that some of the show’s fans have started a petition to force AMC to send showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg packing.
Perhaps inspired by the infamous Game of Thrones fan petition asking for HBO the final season, the Fear the Walking Dead petition at Change.org is aiming to collect at least 1,500 signatures. It’s amassed 1,200 and counting so far.
“We need a new show runner,” the petition reads. “We need the real fear back. That can’t happen until AMC fires Chambliss and Goldberg. Sign the petition. Let’s get our true show back.”
SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 20: Andrew Chambliss (L) and Ian Goldberg attend the ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ autograph signing with AMC during Comic-Con International 2018 at San Diego Convention Center on July 20, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Ari Perilstein/Getty Images for AMC)
The petition, posted by a fan named BRINGBACKFEAR TWD, also lays plenty of blame for the show’s shortcoming on the on the addition of Morgan Jones (Lenny James), a crossover character from The Walking Dead, to the show. He essentially replaced the popular character of Madison Clark (Kim Dickens):
"Fear the Walking Dead is a shell of what it was. What it was supposed to be. Dave Erickson created an amazing show, only to have his successors Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg completely rebrand it to cater to a new audience. This was a HUGE insult to the original fans and to Dave. Killing Madison off was what started the ultimate downfall of Fear … This is not the Morgan help people show. Morgan is not a lead. This is Madison’s show."
AMC has yet to respond to the news of the petition, because why would it, but we’ve seen shows bend to fan pressures in the past. For example, NBC made a series finale for the cancelled show Timeless after fans spoke up. And there have been situations where showrunners leave shows only to come back, as happened with Dan Harmon and Community — NBC let him go after season 3 but he returned for season 5. The petition brings that instance up, although it spells “Harmon” wrong so maybe that’s not its strongest argument.
We’re not sure how big this Fear groundswell will prove to be, but never underestimate the power of an angry fan base making a lot of noise.
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