I'm not sure which was more abrupt: Frank Darabont's departure from The Walking Dead, or his lawsuit against the show's distributor, AMC.

The three-time Oscar nominee developed the comic book series into the hit series that it is today, but he was quietly fired from the production just shortly into the show's second season. Now Darabont is suing the network - which gave TV fans Mad Men and Breaking Bad - for tens of millions of dollars in profit he believes that they owe him due to a sweetheart deal they made in licensing the show to itself.

In Darabont's lawsuit, which he filed yesterday in New York, the director claims that AMC never told him why they dismissed him from the show (something they never discussed publicly, either).

“AMC’s conduct toward Frank to date has been nothing short of atrocious. Unfortunately, the fans of The Walking Dead have suffered as well by being deprived of his creative talent," Darbont's lead lawyer Dale Kinsella said.

Darabont and his agents at CAA (who are also plaintiffs in the suit) allege that they have never received a single dollar from the profit participation he was promised. "Because of AMC's outrageous and improper formula, the profits pool in which [Darabont and CAA] participate may always be in deficit no matter how long-running and successful the series is," the lawsuit reads.

AMC reps have yet to make a statement about the lawsuit.

Darabont is currently helming the TNT crime drama Mob City.