Kudos to The Walking Dead’s Gale Anne Hurd for responding to fan outrage
By Josh Hill
The Walking Dead producers have confirmed that the violence in Season 7 has and will continue to be toned down.
If you watched the season premiere of The Walking Dead this season, chances are you might have stopped right after. That seemed to be a consensus among fans who grew sick of the over-the-top violence right off the bat, and it’s a criticism that producers have responded to.
Gale Anne Hurd, an executive producer on The Walking Dead, noted that the backlash following the violence in the first few episodes of The Walking Dead this season motivated the team to tone it down moving forward.
"“We were able to look at the feedback on the level of violence,” Hurd said during a panel session at the NATPE conference. “We did tone it down for episodes we were still filming for later on in the season.”"
This is one of those things that will mostly go unseen, but is one of the reasons why Gale Ann Hurd is a top producer in television. Say what you will about the direction of The Walking Dead, but Hurd has been a driving force behind the show’s rise and it’s sustained excellence.
A lot of credit goes to the writers and the actors on the show, as well as the legendary Greg Nicotero. But Hurd doesn’t get recognized as much as she should for being a guiding light for one of the most popular shows on television.
Her prompt response to the outrage over violence on the show is why there is so much hope for this upcoming second-half of the season. It shouldn’t go unnoticed that a producer of a show cares so much about fan interest, not only from a business stand point but also from a place of genuine affection. Hurd is active on social media interacting with fans, displaying an organic love for the Walking Dead fandom.
Next: 30 Things We Want to See in The Walking Dead Season 7B
Critics will say The Walking Dead needs a change of direction, but if there’s one thing that should never change it’s Hurd’s involvement with the show.