"The Walking Dead's" Scott Gimple will vacate his writer position for the zombie apocalypse show not because of the petition filed against him by fans but because he is moving up to Chief Content Officer, and the talented Angela Kang will take his place.

Many fans and critics were surprised by the decision, but looks like the show is confident with Kang taking the helm. AMC Studios President Charlie Collier said in their press release, "This is an enormously important day for the entire The Walking Dead television universe. We are proud to acknowledge Angela's significant contribution to the series and to set a clear path forward for a ninth season under her direction."

Kang started writing for "The Walking Dead" during the show's second season. She was first credited in episodes "Secrets" and "Judge, Jury, Executioner." Kang went full throttle in season 7 with five episodes.

To recall, the first half of season 8 was not well received by fans with Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) being bitten by a walker. This prompted one longtime fan to start a petition to kick Gimple out of the show entirely for killing off Carl from the series.

The petition may not be successful, but Gimple is still making an exit. Gimple being promoted will mean bigger responsibilities for the entire franchise especially with the anticipated crossover of "The Walking Dead" and "Fear the Walking Dead."

In other news, the show was renewed for season 9 with the eighth season halfway done. Many fans are still devastated by what happened to Carl but are looking forward to an all-out-war when the show resumes on Feb. 25.

"The Walking Dead" continues to generate fairly good reviews from fans and critics. The series got a 80 percent from Rotten Tomatoes, 7 out of 10 from IGN, and a three stars from Den of Geek.