Fear the Walking Dead

SDCC 2016: Watch The Trailer For Season 2B Of ‘Fear The Walking Dead’!

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 22, 2016

Briefly: We’re expecting to see the full trailer for The Walking Dead proper’s seventh season any time now, but for now you’ll just have to settle with a good look at season 2B of AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead.

The series takes us back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse – a time when the world was changing rapidly for reasons unknown, before anyone understood exactly what was happening, when life as everyone knew it was upended and altered in ways no one could have ever imagined. The series also stars Frank Dillane as Nick, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia, Ruben Blades as Daniel, Mercedes Mason as Ofelia,and Lorenzo James Henrie as Chris.

I’m avoiding the video myself, as I’m not quite up to date with Fear at this point and time. In any case, you can take a look at the trailer below, and be sure to let us know what you think!

Fear the Walking Dead returns to AMC on August 21st!

SDCC 2016: ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Gets Some Gorgeous New Key Art, Two New Stills!

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 12, 2016

Briefly: We may still be a week away from the actual convention, but that hasn’t stopped AMC from giving us our very first look at the upcoming episodes of Fear The Walking Dead.

The network has just debuted some slick new key art for the popular series, and two new still images to go along with it.

Now, I’m sure this isn’t all that we’ll see from Fear at this year’s Comic-Con; we’ll certainly see the first trailer for the main series, and I imagine we’ll see some for the spinoff as well. On top of that, convention goers will also have the opportunity to board the Abigail themselves on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9:00am – 9:00pm PT.

Fear the Walking Dead takes us back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse – a time when the world was changing rapidly for reasons unknown, before anyone understood exactly what was happening, when life as everyone knew it was upended and altered in ways no one could have ever imagined. The series also stars Frank Dillane as Nick, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia, Ruben Blades as Daniel, Mercedes Mason as Ofelia,and Lorenzo James Henrie as Chris.

Take a look at the key art and images below, and let us know if you’re excited for the return!

Walkers - Fear of the Walking Dead _ Season 2, Episode 8 - Photo Credit: Richard Foreman Jr/AMC — Walkers – Fear of the Walking Dead _ Season 2, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Richard Foreman Jr/AMC

Frank Dillane as Nick Clark - Fear of the Walking Dead _ Season 2, Episode 8 - Photo Credit: Richard Foreman Jr/AMC — Frank Dillane as Nick Clark – Fear of the Walking Dead _ Season 2, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Richard Foreman Jr/AMC

Boats Are Bad In The First Trailer For ‘Fear The Walking Dead’s Second Season!

by Derek KraneveldtMarch 4, 2016

Briefly: Following that gorgeous key art from earlier today, AMC has officially debuted the first teaser trailer for next month’s return of Fear the Walking Dead.

Yep, even within the 30-second trailer, it’s pretty clear pretty quickly that hopping on a boat was a bad idea.

Fear the Walking Dead takes us back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse – a time when the world was changing rapidly for reasons unknown, before anyone understood exactly what was happening, when life as everyone knew it was upended and altered in ways no one could have ever imagined. The series also stars Frank Dillane as Nick, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia, Ruben Blades as Daniel, Mercedes Mason as Ofelia,and Lorenzo James Henrie as Chris.

Take a look at the trailer below, and be sure to let us know what you hope to see next season. Fear the Walking Dead returns on April 10th!

‘Fear The Walking Dead’s Second Season Gets Some Gorgeous Key Art!

by Derek KraneveldtMarch 4, 2016

Briefly: With just over a month left until Fear the Walking Dead reunites us with our favourite post-apocalyptic broken family, AMC has just debuted the season’s official, officially gorgeous key art.

You’d think that in this sort of situation, being on a boat would be exactly where you’d want to be. Apparently (based on the image, anyways), this is not going to be the case.

Fear the Walking Dead returns on April 10th, and we can’t freaking wait. Take a look at the key art below, and be sure to let us know if you’re excited!

Watch The First Episode Of ‘Fear The Walking Dead: Flight 462’

by Derek KraneveldtOctober 5, 2015

Briefly: It’s finally here! Yes, Fear The Walking Dead‘s first season is officially over, and whether or not you enjoyed the extremely slow burn of the series’ first six episodes (read our review right here), Fear The Walking Dead: Flight 462 has launched to fill your airborne walker needs.

The first episode aired during last night’s Fear finale, while the subsequent 15 will air during this season of The Walking Dead proper.

“Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462” tells the story of a group of passengers aboard a commercial airplane during the earliest moments of the outbreak. Over the course of the series, the plane and the lives of its passengers are put in jeopardy once they discover an infected traveler. The series is written by L. Signorino and Mike Zunic and directed by “Fear” director of photography Michael McDonough.

While zombies on a plane sound interesting enough, the coolest aspect of the news has to be the revelation that one character who somehow survives the attack will join the cast of Fear the Walking Dead in season two.

Are you down with the idea of a standalone special? Do we already have enough The Walking Dead? Watch the first episode now, and sound out in the comments below!

https://youtu.be/X832Ti_7WjA

Geekscape Reviews ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Season 1

by jake108October 4, 2015

Well, with the season over, we can now reflect on the good and bad of FTWD’s first season. Don’t worry, we’ll also be recapping the season finale too!

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

The season finale started off shots of Los Angeles on fire. Granted, there were only a few select parts on fire, but it was nice seeing the city after spending so much time in the safe zone and compound. As far as the episode goes, most of it falls in line with the prediction I wrote last week. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in predicting a breakout coupled with a walker security breach to the compound, but luckily, we were treated with a little more than that.

Things that I didn’t predict were the highest points of interest in this episode. First, the group suffered a sizable loss by leaving the doctor at the compound. It was easy to see that she had given up, but maybe with a little push, she could have been persuaded. Instead, she went out No Country For Old Men style. A doctor in the group would have boosted their survival potential.

Shorty after, Nick and Strand attempt an escape, but eventually get held up by a hallway full of walkers. Our group comes to the rescue, and all make it out of the compound, but not without injury. First, the soldier Daniel tortured last episode got his revenge by shooting Ofelia. I’m still a little unclear as to why he would shoot her instead of Daniel. My only guess was that it would hurt Daniel more by seeing his daughter get hurt. Ofelia’s injury is treatable and will probably be healed by the time season 2 comes around.

Second, Liza is bit…or scratched by a walker, which means she has to go. Before dying, she made a point by saying that the bite doesn’t turn people, it’s the infection that comes from the injury. It would seem that to become a walker, it doesn’t matter how you die, so long as the brain is uninjured. We should also note that zombies are able to survive underwater. This was especially evident in a scene in a The Walking Dead Season 3 episode where [Spoilers] Michonne breaks The Governor’s head aquarium, prompting a severed head attempting to bite Michonne. Also let’s not forget the well-walker found on Hershel’s farm [End Spoilers]. So while the group will eventually reach Abigail, which is presumably the name of the giant boat just offshore, they will still be in danger. Strand, the newest addition to the group, seems to be on top of things so far. If he keeps it up, he may have some ideas to repel water-walkers, should it come to that.

When I first caught wind that AMC would be producing a prequel to The Walking Dead, I had hoped they would delve more into how the outbreak initially begun. What caused the outbreak? Who was patient zero? How did it spread so rapidly? While FTWD attempted to answer some of these questions, I found that most of the plots in the first season fell flat. It worries me that the folks behind The Walking Dead franchise seem to be focused more so on where to place their next walker setting than the story of humanity’s demise. We got our zombies in the south, we got see them in Los Angeles, soon in the ocean, and now we get to see them on a plane!

I get the Midi-chlorian argument. Keeping a mystery going drives the story in a positive way. I know, I watched LOST. But you have to at least acknowledge the mystery at some point. Even Kenobi had an answer to what the Force was in episode IV. Maybe if FTWD had a few more episodes to work with, we could have gotten away from the heavy family drama that hampered the first half of the season.

On a more positive note, the cookie-cutter characters started to develop in the season finale. It’ll be interesting to see them come into their own as the series goes on. Perhaps the most interesting characters on the show are Strand and Chris. Say what you will about Chris, but he has the age and potential to engage in a few power struggles next season. With his mom dead, and his resentment toward his father even stronger, Chris will probably make more than a few hotheaded decisions.

Agree? Disagree? Don’t be afraid to comment! As always, thanks for reading!

Geekscape Recaps: Fear the Walking Dead – ‘Cobalt’

by jake108September 27, 2015

With the penultimate episode of season one out of the way, it’s looking like we’re going to get a heavy dose of action next week. Still, this week we got a new character and a ton of build up for this season’s climax. So let’s get to it!

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

The episode opens up with the downtown camp we’ve been hearing about since last episode. The people in the cages are presumably tagged as threats to both the safe zones and downtown camp. The clinic seems to be located inside a high school gym. The clinic is down to three doctors after the two best were sent on an evacuation order. It’ll be interesting learning where this evac center is located since it seems to be reserved for people with a higher role in society – more on this later.

Meanwhile, back at the safe zone, Daniel and Ofelia decide to take one of the military personal hostage with the hopes of getting some information and eventually using him for a potential trade. I can’t say this is the smartest idea for the Daniel and Ofelia to do, but they’re definitely running out of options. This was evident by the time Daniel decided take the torture route. After the torture, Daniel was able to learn exactly what the military has planned.

Some other interesting military tidbits we should be aware of is how stretched the military is. One sergeant told LT. Moyers that some of his men had been awake for fifty hours. Either Moyers is grossly misusing his soldiers, or there’s just not enough to go around. Honestly, it’s probably both.

We get a further dose of what exactly the military does when they leave the safe zone. Most of the action takes place while Travis takes a ride along with LT. Moyers into Downtown Los Angeles. During these sequences, Travis is exposed what the world has become outside the safe zones. After a brief battle inside a library, Moyers fails to return to the humvee. The real answer as to what exactly happened to Moyers is up for debate. Regardless, the people who had once reported to him have no interest in continuing their duty.

Perhaps the best addition to the series is Victor Strand. Strand seems to have a good understanding of how the world is going to work post-apocalypse. It’ll be interesting to see him and Nick team up for the inevitable escape from the downtown facility. His actions next episode will probably establish Strand as an integral character to the series.

By the end of the episode, we are all familiar with “Cobalt.” In the next episode, we’ll presumably see the start of the extermination of all civilians in the safe zone. I can’t imagine all the soldiers will follow their orders and kill civilians, so we may end up seeing a coup of some sort, which will also be coupled a large force of walkers. Below, you’ll find evacuation orders that coincide with Cobalt:

That’s all for next week! Did I miss something? Don’t be afraid to comment! See you next week!

Check out next week’s promo and a sneak peek!

Geekscape Recaps: Fear the Walking Dead – ‘Not Fade Away’

by jake108September 20, 2015

It’s another Sunday and we’re in for another night of FTWD analysis! This episode, we got a run down on the effect the military has the neighborhood and how the rest of the outside world might be coping. Hint: It’s not great.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

We’re nine days into the quarantine and power outage. It seems like the neighborhood and our characters are trying to preserve any sense of normalcy they can, or at least trying to. The most pressing matters seem to be a lack of medicine, telephone lines, and fluctuating electricity. Though, the people are receiving rations, which means some sense of order still exists.

The neighborhood our characters find themselves in seem to be one of twelve safe zones. It would also seem that the military either thinks they do have the upper-hand, or they’re lying to the public about how bad it really is. If you’re interested to see where the other safe zones are in the area, take a look at this map pulled from the second screen experience:

The public seems to grasping on to anything to prevent losing their minds. A biblical verse, Revelations 21:4 pops up at least twice this episode. I’m honestly not sure if it’s just a really popular verse to recite during the zombie apocalypse, or if the same person is going around posting the same verse around town. It’s probably both. For those of you who would like to know what the verse is, you can find it here:

“And God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” Revelations 21:4

As the episode goes on, Madison begins to have her second guesses as well. This is fueled further by the case of the mysterious light reflection in the dead zone. I had hoped we’d see some character additions, but, well, the person(s) in that house didn’t seem to make it through the episode.

The military was made to be the villain a few times this episode. Their most ominous military action was of course taking Griselda and Nick away via trucks. They also did not honor their commitment of allowing Daniel, her husband, to go with her. It seems reasonable to remove a dying person away from the secured location. After the abduction, Lisa tells the military doc that Nick isn’t a “threat,” but Nick is taken anyway. I assume a “threat” is anyone who is tagged as a high probability of becoming a walker.

It’s hard to say what will show up next week. However, it’s easy to think that we’ll get more of the same next week. More military drama, more family drama, and maybe a potential rebellion. I can only hope this military vs. the people thing doesn’t last the rest of the season. We’ve already been there before in other shows. With any luck, we’ll see our characters leave the neighborhood for good next week!

Did I miss something? Have any questions? We’re here to help! Don’t be afraid to comment!

Geekscape Recaps: Fear the Walking Dead – “The Dog”

by jake108September 13, 2015

It’s been a couple of weeks since we last had our dose of FTWD. While the second episode of the series didn’t end on a major cliffhanger, I admit, the fate of Los Angeles has been looming in the back of my mind for a few days now. If you’re like me, then luckily for us, we got to see what’s happened since the riots that broke out at the end of the last episode!

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead

Look, I don’t know about you, but I’d be pissed if I knew cops were shooting zombies. I mean, I’d be flipping cop cars, vandalizing stores, and starting fires. But that’s just me. What we know for sure is that there are walkers present in the riots and people are actively being turned during the violence. It’s because of the violence that Travis and company are forced to escape the barbershop.

This is where some of the more interesting details were heard on Travis’ radio. Eleven states have declared a state of emergency and the FAA is getting ready to ground all flights – more on this later. This is coming right before we see how the hospital is checking in, and, well, they’re not so great. It would appear that major city hospitals are all comprised by walkers at this point. The state of the hospitals wouldn’t be able to hold up for long with a fluctuating power grid.

Aside from the violence, we get a little more into some of the family drama. It’s sprinkled throughout episode, but the most significant part came when Alicia saw a walker up close for the first time. After vehemently denying that her boyfriend ended up becoming a walker, Alicia was forced to reconcile with the current events. However, I must point out that this character was on track to attend California Berkley, yet she’s been treated and made ignorant of what’s been going on. I get that the mother is trying to shield her daughter from some of the more gruesome aspects, but she couldn’t possibly think she could hide it forever. I would think that a lack of information is what’s going to get a lot of people killed.

Toward the end of the episode, Nick looks into the air and sees one plane flying erratically. This is possibly linked to the spin-off show that’s set to tie into FTWD. By now, the FAA should have grounded all flights. This plane, however, probably left before the notice to ground all flights was sent out. This also means that the cockpit must be compromised since it’s still in the air.

Now, with the military present, it’s clear the government has some idea as to what’s going on. This also means that California was probably one of the eleven states to declare a state of emergency. It’ll be interesting to see how the military controls the situation. I’m guessing it’s not gonna be great.

For those of you interested, here’s Executive Order S-21 pulled from AMC’s second screen experience:

Comments? Did I miss something? Don’t be afraid to comment! See you next week!

Geekscape 381: Prepping For ‘Oktoberfest’ With Hayley Derryberry!

by JonathanSeptember 1, 2015

Hayley Derryberry has been on the show before and now she makes her triumphant return to talk about her latest project ‘Oktoberfest’, the office comedy centered around an Oktoberfest beer garden that needs YOUR help to get off the ground! We talk about her real life history of working at Oktoberfest and the ridiculous drunken fights and advances that break out! We then discuss the hilarious brilliance of ‘Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp’ and the heavy pacing of ‘Fear The Walking Dead’. Assassin’s Creed and Borderlands are headed to theaters but will they be any good? I talk about visiting the Jack Kirby art gala at CSUN and all of us remember Wes Craven, who died way too early but left us with so many incredible gifts.

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Geekscape Recaps: Fear the Walking Dead – ‘So Close, Yet So Far’

by jake108August 31, 2015

We’re here for another episode of FTWD, and I have to say that this episode was a little better than last week’s pilot. Luckily for us, the dosage of family drama and angst was toned down, but only a little. The episode title perfectly summed up tonight’s events as our set of characters seemed to be on the brink of getting out of the city the entire time, but were ultimately faced with some overwhelming obstacles.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

This episode picks up just about where we left off last week. The family is again in disarray amidst the impending zombie apocalypse. Unfortunately, not a lot happened this episode. The episode was action heavy and we got a glimpse of what Downtown Los Angeles was like just before the full-scale outbreak. Other than that, it’s everything fans of The Walking Dead can expect.

One thing that did stand out this week was how prevalent “the virus” was for the second straight episode. This illness was heavily hinted at last week, but it seems to have little to do with the walker-plague we saw in TWD at the prison. By my count, there was maybe one confirmed walker who was turned simply because they died from the virus. That was Mr. Dawson. More on him later.

At first, it was looking as if Alicia’s boyfriend, Matt, was succumbing to the virus when it was revealed he had been bitten. Why he didn’t call 911 or seek medical attention after being bitten is beyond me. My only guess was he was bit at home and passed out or…

Regardless, I have to admit I felt a bit anxious in some of the sequences in downtown Los Angeles. Making viewers anxious is something the folks behind TWD and FTWD seem to be good at. This is supplemented by the lack of knowledge the people seem to have about what’s really going on. This was hit on again by Nick after returning home from killing a walker.

It’s a shame that one of the people who was keen on the current events eventually turned. That was Mr. Dawson, who I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of next episode. His eerie cough foreshadowed what became of him. However, he and the police officer can’t be the only ones packing up getting ready to go. By the end of the episode, it would seem like the freeways are hopeless and roads leading in and out of the city are closed. Just take a look at this traffic map posted to AMC’s FTWD second screen experience:

With the next episode being two weeks away, I hope the show picks up the pace and shows the family navigating through society’s demise. This episode was a good start and it will be interesting to see just how the military and/or national guard deals with this crisis. If I’m being honest, Jericho did an excellent job of showing the demise of life as we know it and I would love it if FTWD incorporated some of the elements Jericho (spoilers) had when hinting at news of surviving cities, political leaders, and the rise of new nations. We can dream, can’t we?

That’s all for this week! Did I miss something? Having anything to add? Don’t be afraid to comment!

Geekscape Recaps: Fear the Walking Dead – “Pilot”

by jake108August 24, 2015

Fear the Walking Dead, the first spin-off series of The Walking Dead premiered last night. If you’re not an avid fan of The Walking Dead, fear not! This new series has a new cast, new setting, and little boundaries as to what direction the showrunners want to take. The city in peril this time is Los Angeles, which should make for some good fun. There are plenty of crazy things happening in East LA to begin with. Adding zombies to the mix, well, I’d probably just hang around El Chucho for safety.

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!

The pilot starts with Nick Clark waking up in what appears to be a church-turned-drug-nest. Chris wanders around the church looking for his girlfriend Gloria when he stumbles upon her eating someone face. He promptly runs out of the church and is hit by a car. Civilians crowd around him and we now establish that FearTWD takes place shortly before the outbreak encompasses Los Angeles.

Early in the episode, not much happens besides establishing our new set of characters. There are some hints here and there as to each character’s personal history and their professions, something we never got right away with most of TWD’s characters. We also get a couple of hints at what’s to come, specifically with principal noticing an increasing number of student absences due to illness. This is interesting considering that we know very little on what caused the initial outbreak. We do know that in TWD, some walkers died of a flu before turning. These walkers were easily identified by their eyes.

Continuing on this subject, we got our first good look at what a walker looks like during the initial outbreak. Despite the “sickness” that’s spreading throughout the city, it does not appear this situation and the walker flu we saw in TWD are related. The most telling piece of evidence is all in the eyes.

Furthermore, Calvin looked more like Morgan’s wife after she turned. It’s possible that we’ll be seeing lot of walkers like this due to the fact that their flesh isn’t necessarily rotting…yet.

Early in the episode, Madison catches a student bringing a knife to school because he’s afraid of, well, zombies. The student also mentions that there are reports in five states. In fact, the school is a significant host to foreshadowing what’s to come. Everything from the student, the principal who cares about the school’s attendance, to the lesson on man versus nature. Travis, who is teaching a lesson on Jack London, goes on to state that “nature always wins.”

Going to the freeway sequence, I found it interesting that Madison tries to use her cell phone. Is it possible there was something more involved to keep the public from calling out? If so, why was the helicopter able to keep their feed going long enough to get footage to get onto the internet? By the next morning, all of the kids were watching the incident on their phones. The news break even prompted the district to shorten the school day entirely.

In any case, reports have been popping up on the internet. The kid being able to deliver the stat that there have been cases in five states is evidence of this. As more and more cases are seen in Los Angeles, it’ll be interesting to see how people prepare for the city’s doom.

Literary Reference!

When Nick’s mom and Travis visited the shooting gallery (the church), they found a book Nick had been reading. Winesburg, Ohio is a collection of twenty two stories mostly centered around one protagonist, George Willard. It was written between 1915 and 1916. Many of the stories deal with isolation and loneliness, both of which attribute to what Nick is going through. Furthermore, the stories reflect on Willard’s increasing independence, culminating with his departure from the town itself. In FearTWD, it’s clear Nick and his family will have no choice BUT to leave.

That’s all for now! Think I’ve missed something? Don’t be afraid to comment! See you next week!

Watch The First Three Minutes Of ‘Fear The Walking Dead’!

by Derek KraneveldtAugust 20, 2015

Briefly: Can you believe that Fear The Walking Dead is finally just a few days away from premiering?

AMC today debuted the series’ slow and stressful opening scene, and I have to say that it definitely has me looking forward to Sunday.

I’ve felt a little iffy about Fear The Walking Dead since the companion series was first revealed. Sure, the world wants as much The Walking Dead as it can get (again, you do know that there’s both a comic book and incredible video game too, right?), but would this series simply be the same show in a different location, and without the survivors we already know and love? How could it differentiate itself from what’s essentially the most popular television series on the planet?

After having an opportunity to speak with the cast and producers of the series last month at Comic-Con, any concerns that I had about Fear the Walking Dead disappeared, and I’m now simply excited to see where East Los Angeles, and the beginnings of the infection, take this dysfunctional blended family.

Take a look at the opening scene below, and be sure to let us know what you think. As I mentioned above, Fear The Walking Dead premieres this Sunday on AMC!

If you’re looking for more from the series, my interviews with the cast and producers are here:

-Rubén Blades and Mercedes Mason
-Kim Dickens and Alycia Debnam-Carey
-Frank Dillane and Creator Dave Erickson
-Cliff Curtis and Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd
-Elizabeth Rodriguez and Lorenzo James Henri

Geekscape Interviews: ‘Fear The Walking Dead’s Elizabeth Rodriguez and Lorenzo James Henri Talk Parenting And More!

by Derek KraneveldtAugust 5, 2015

It’s been a few weeks now since the always-incredible (and always exhausting), events of San Diego Comic-Con, and I’m beyond excited that I’m just now able to talk about one of the highlights of this year’s week in San Diego.

If you’re a long-time reader of Geekscape, you’ll know how huge of a fan of The Walking Dead I am. I’ve been keeping up with the comic book since I was in high school, passionately wrote Geekscape’s Walking Dead Weekly column before life got in the way, and of course, ate up every single second of Telltale’s incredible The Walking Dead video game.

So of course, I jumped at the opportunity to speak with the cast and producers of the new, mysterious companion series, Fear the Walking Dead.

Now, that being said, I’d felt a little iffy about Fear The Walking Dead since the companion series was first revealed. Sure, the world wants as much The Walking Dead as it can get (again, you do know that there’s both a comic book and incredible video game too, right?), but would this series simply be the same show in a different location, and without the survivors we already know and love? How could it differentiate itself from what’s essentially the most popular television series on the planet?

After having an opportunity to speak with the cast and producers of the series last month, any concerns that I had about Fear the Walking Dead disappeared, and I’m now simply excited to see where East Los Angeles, and the beginnings of the infection, take this dysfunctional blended family.

And that was all before that awesome trailer was released.

The interviews were run in a round-table format, and had journalists speaking to a few of the actors (or producers) at the same time. As it was a round-table, not all questions were mine, but all of them are definitely worth reading. It wasn’t the fantastic trailer or meeting these actors that made me really excited for Fear The Walking Dead, but the passion, excitement, and chemistry that all of its talent have with the project and each other.

Here’s what Elizabeth Rodriguez and Lorenzo James Henrie, who play Liza Manawa and Chris Manawa had to say about the series.

Question: Can you start by introducing us to your characters and how they fit into the world?

Elizabeth: Yeah, well. In my world, it’s all about me so… [laughing]

Lorenzo: See you guys later.

Elizabeth: And my son, even though it’s not. I’m playing Liza Manawa and Lorenzo’s playing Chris Manawa. He plays my son and we are Cliff Curtis’ first family and we got separated a few years ago. The great thing is he didn’t leave me [chuckle] so there’s not that victim thing that gets boring for me. So we had a kid, I put my jeans on the back burner, I want to go to med school, it didn’t happen. We were raising him, cut to we grew apart, things didn’t change. We separated three years ago.

Now, I’m sort of burning the candle on both ends and going back to school. I know that as a single mother predominantly, I can’t go to med school, so I go to nursing school, which plays a big factor in what happens along the way and I’m very protective of Chris. We have a good relationship with his father. His father is part of a different family now, the Clarks, which require more time because the Clarks’ children, one of his, you’ll see and so I think I’m just…the only hiccup is that when he says he wants to pick up his son, he needs to do that and be a man of his word when it comes to his son. And then Lorenzo… [crosstalk]

Lorenzo: Hello, hello.

Elizabeth: As a teenager has his own issues.

Lorenzo: Yeah, I mean Christopher is a product of a kid that his father and mother got a divorce so he’s very angry. More on his dad than on his mom. I mean how can you hate your mom if something bad happens? It’s just something about that. But no, he’s very wounded, he’s very angry with his father. He wants to become a man but now he does not have a father to look up to. So there’s going to be this journey of this kid who wants to stand up to his father. He wants to be like his father but he can’t because he doesn’t really like the guy anymore because he broke the biggest promise you could ever break, to his mother, to his son, so with the journey of this whole with the backdrop of the zombie apocalypse and stuff, will they come together as a family? Will they love each other? Will they grow? Will they survive and Christopher is trying to be the man like his father, someone like his father.

Elizabeth: I think there is a pull and push like there is with a lot of teenagers trying to figure out. What happens is…[crosstalk]

Lorenzo: I love you, dad. I hate my dad.

Elizabeth: Yeah, he comes and grabs us because he knows information before we do and I’m like, you’re crazy and then these family units come together…[crosstalk]

Lorenzo: That’s a big point too because Chris is at that end, I mean we both resent the other…I mean Christopher resents the other family…[crosstalk]

Elizabeth: I know.

Lorenzo: Christopher hates those other kids.

Elizabeth: I know you do.

[Laughing]

Elizabeth: Because you’re a teenager. That’s because you’re a teenager.

Lorenzo: No. It’s… [crosstalk]

Elizabeth: I don’t. As a parent, I ask him question. I ask about the kids and if he’s okay and what’s going on there. So these worlds come together, these families come together and along the way we pick up a third family which they’ll tell you about themselves later.

So we end up under a certain roof, and there’s parents and children and who’s going to protect whom and how is this going to sort of work along the way?

Talent left to right: Lorenzo James Henrie (Chris) and Elizabeth Rodriguez (Liza). Photo by RHS Photo. Courtesy of AMC Global.

Question: How do they realize that it is the apocalypse and that the zombies are coming?

Elizabeth: We don’t. It takes a long time.

Lorenzo: You’re going to have to find out soon.

[Laughing]

Elizabeth: We get information and then we get a little more information and then we get the trade and then things happen.

Lorenzo: You’re just going to have to watch. [crosstalk]

Elizabeth: Yeah, things start out slowly and then things happen really fast.

Lorenzo: It gets insane. It’s like lighting a cigar. Burning slowly.

Elizabeth: Yes. It has a slow burn and then things like this in real life take a trajectory that then things happen and we realize things really fast. In the later episodes but you see in things that if you know “The Walking Dead,” you’re like, the signs are right there, people! [giggling] But our heroes don’t watch “The Walking Dead,” so we are clueless.

[Chuckle]

Question: Do you watch “The Walking Dead”?

Elizabeth: Yes, but we can’t talk about that right now. [Giggle] We do but the thing is that it doesn’t inform the story we’re telling. It’s…[crosstalk]

Lorenzo: It’s completely – if you would have watched both shows side by side, they’re completely different…[crosstalk]

Elizabeth: Yeah, ours is definitely a family drama with that as a backdrop, with Los Angeles being a big character. And the greatest thing I think is just that. It’s not having the rules, the fear is in not knowing who’s alive, who’s not alive. What is this? How? Is it your neighbor? Is it your friend? Is it just a sickness? How do you make…It’s not just this person, oh, okay. Take that one out, take that one out, take that one out. It’s all struggling with the humans…[crosstalk]

Lorenzo: It’s got a lot of layers.

Elizabeth: With knowing people only as human beings. How do you get from that mentally to they’re not? How does one do that, you know, and hold on to your values and not lose your mind and not still survive and take care of your loved ones.

Question: So it’s basically a story about the characters and they happen to be living the zombie apocalypse. As a viewer we know it’s going to happen. We know like, there’s the killer. It’s going to get to you but for you, how is it to play this strong woman who has to take care of the family and then has to hear about this what all these walker zombies and…? [crosstalk]

Elizabeth: Well, because I’m a nursing student, I end up sort of learning more than some of them at some point. They start out knowing more than I do and then because that’s my instinct, I end up helping. I am more privy to information sooner than they are and so I think for my character, I love playing this. It’s incredible to be able to play. Oh, this woman is going to school that’s independent that is also single mother. That is no BS. I think that her thing is being able to help and how could she help? She can help because she can put her nursing skills to use and so I think any time – we don’t ever feel helpless. So you find ways to do that, however you can, and my character ends up doing that in a greater context.

Question: You talked a little bit about the family drama. When we watch, how soon do we get to some action and how soon do we get to…? [crosstalk]

Elizabeth: You got…You do…[crosstalk]

Lorenzo: You’ve got to watch it.

[Laughing]

Elizabeth: You do…you get glimpses of it you will get things where you will be like, well, everyone was like, what just happened? You know, you guys, are like, people come on! You do get that. You get that in the first episode. You get that going along the way and then it all falls apart the way apocalypses do. [Laughs] I mean I could only compare it to what were talking about this in detail before our principal day of photography, we were going to talk about in reference we know so it would be to me like a natural disaster, like you know, Katrina where you think oh, your government is going to take care, oh, and then you watch this on TV and you’re like, this is impossible that we’re not equipped and this is happening. So it’s that sort of idea like 9/11, where you’re just watching this thing and your brain can’t process it so you’re like, oh, this is a movie and I’m watching anything but what’s really happened.

And so it’s that sort of natural phenomenon to try to make sense of something within the realm of what we understand. Not we can jump to, this must be – this must be walkers, you know. [laughing] It’s that kind of thing and like along the way, making choices between bad choices and worst choices and how do you live with yourself and how do you redefine yourself every step of the way.

Question: What bad choices and good choices?

Elizabeth: There are no good choices, there is only…in the situation everything we do, you…

Question: The fact is you guys want us to survive, it’s a good choice.

Elizabeth: That’s just your natural instinct.

[Laughing]

Question: That’s good.

Elizabeth: Of course it is. That’s why we’re all here right now. [laughing] Survival of the fittest.

Question: Will there be much humor in the show?

Lorenzo: What is that?

Elizabeth: Humor.

Question: Will there be any like moments or is there a character that brings in humor with them?

Elizabeth: Well, I bring a lot of humor off camera. [laughing]

Lorenzo: There is some humor.

Elizabeth: Is there humor? That’s a good question.

Lorenzo: Yeah. There is humor.

Elizabeth: I don’t. I can’t ever remember the differentiation between the camera is on or off because I’m such a clown. [giggle]

Lorenzo: She’s the best worker.

Elizabeth: Let me see. Is there humor?

Question: Don’t worry.

[Laughing]

Elizabeth: No, I can’t tell you whether there is humor or not. I don’t remember.

[Laughing]

Question: It seems like you genuinely have a motherly son bond…[crosstalk]

Elizabeth: Oh my god it’s so easy. Look at this one. It was so easy.

Lorenzo: She’s the best.

Elizabeth: I’m like he’s the sweetest thing and the great thing is that he gets to play this sort of good, innocent, the same energy and it’s so much easier. [chuckle] Like a guy showing up just like [laughing] and he has to play this little sweet guy and I love you. He makes it so easy. And immediately there was like this nurturing aspect to him. I find myself talking like, don’t’ do that! Oh my god, I’m sorry. I’m not your real mom.

[Laughing]

Question: Are the zombies still called walkers?

Elizabeth: They are walkers. They are infected. We don’t even know they are walkers. They are infected at first because that’s all we know that they are infected. We had no idea anything other than that.

Question: So how does it feel to walk on an infected set?

Elizabeth: It’s interesting because at times there were like it’s not…you don’t always feel like you’re in. Sometimes, it’s like this family stuff and other times I do these scenes where I’m like, oh my God, this is the genre. And other times I’m like I’m in an action film. [laughing] There are times when I’m like – it’s a total like action.

Lorenzo: It’s pretty surreal because you go home at night and you’ll be like, wait, what did I just do?

Elizabeth: Yeah, yeah.

[Giggling]

Lorenzo: And I try to fall asleep. What was I looking at?

Elizabeth: Yeah. There are days where it’s long and things happen and you literally have to come home and wash the day away of what you just experienced all day because they do a really good job of making it feel really real, all the chaos.

Question: Does it give you nightmares?

Lorenzo: No.

Elizabeth: Kim had some nightmares. Ask her about them.

Lorenzo: I don’t have any nightmares.

Elizabeth: I do have nightmares but I don’t have children in real life and all I keep thinking is if I did, I would be the worst mother right now because I would be like, you’re not going anywhere. You can’t go anywhere [laughing] I would be to my child to be like, you have to go a therapist [laughing] and get away from me. I need to go live with someone else, because there is no way not to bring that home. Like I drive now and in L.A. you sort of – like even in Vancouver, you see homeless, you don’t know whether they’re mentally challenged, drugs and you are like all these people could be walkers. Like you just can’t help it. What’s differentiating them? And I think the fact that it’s in L.A. it makes it interesting because you just assume that they’re just part of the characters of L.A. streets, much easier.

Lorenzo: Just go down to Santa Monica, and you’ll find…[crosstalk]

Elizabeth: Yeah or downtown, you know what I mean, they sound a hell of a lot more in Atlanta than they do in the streets of L.A. We could be walking amongst them now.

Question: No one would notice.

Elizabeth: Yeah. No one would notice in L.A. for the most part.

Question: So how does it feel, working in this environment than being in the city that’s so cynical in a way that people don’t really believe in this stuff and they are like, oh, we need hard science and we’re not going to believe these shenanigans and stuff like that? How do you feel about that environment? How do you feel especially you dealing as teenager with all this stuff that I know as a teenager? Your character must be going through a lot of things. How do you react to the zombie apocalypse?

Lorenzo: The fear really describes it perfectly because you really don’t know what it is and Christopher wants to put something to it but he can’t because he doesn’t know what it is and the only people he could turn to are his parents and he doesn’t really want to turn to his dad for the advice. So it’s the unknown, its the fear, the unexpected that you really just don’t know how to – it’s like going in cold water of the first time. You’re so shocked that it takes you a few seconds to really absorb what really happened. So it’s a lot of mixed feelings. It’s a lot of ultimate fear, right?

Elizabeth: I feel like the thing that these walkers in the apocalypse – the only part of the genre that you could literally replace that with anything. With ISIS, with – you get a place in you know, any war, you can replace it with terrorism and I feel like when I think about it – I would think that all these people are subdued on a day to day with these things. The only thing that they think is that it’s going to end. You know, that there’s an end date.

Question: So you can identify more with these characters than you do with the ones that you do in “The Walking Dead” for example?

Elizabeth: Right now we do because it’s about understanding. So we identify more with these characters than the ones we haven’t become them yet.

Lorenzo: And I think…[crosstalk]

Elizabeth: We haven’t gone to the place of it being okay and being able to go, they’re human or not. It’s that trace of going from being one of us to becoming – they accepted this is the world we are living in and these are the rules and this is it. This is how you take them out. [laughing] And this is how you keep living. So it’s that transition of us watching us become that or not.

Lorenzo: Thank you.

Elizabeth: Thank you guys

Question: Thank you.

Question: Thank you so much.

Elizabeth: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Fear The Walking Dead premieres on August 23rd. Looking for more of the talent? Here are the rest of the conversations:

-Rubén Blades and Mercedes Mason
-Kim Dickens and Alycia Debnam-Carey
-Frank Dillane and Creator Dave Erickson
-Cliff Curtis and Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd

Geekscape Interviews: ‘Fear The Walking Dead’s Cliff Curtis And Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd Talk The Series’ Slow Burn And More!

by Derek KraneveldtAugust 5, 2015

So of course, I jumped at the opportunity to speak with the cast and producers of the new, mysterious companion series, Fear the Walking Dead.

And that was all before that awesome trailer was released.

This time around, it’s Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd, along with Cliff Curtis who portrays Travis in the series.

Question: Tell us, how did that happen? Was it AMC who came to you or did you go to AMC with the spin-off?

Gale Anne Hurd: Well, we had had discussions in the past, about doing another show within the universe that Robert Kirkman had created with the comic book hit “The Walking Dead,” but there was never a, we want to launch something, or, this is when we’re going to launch it. It was really, let’s get the right story. Let’s have a reason for doing this, not just, oh, we need this for a particular time. That’s the way good television happens I think. You get it right, and then you put it on the air. Not only that, unlike “The Walking Dead,” which launched with a six-season order, we shot a pilot, so that everyone could decide, is this a series that stands on its own, that deserves to be on television? We went through the process as if we were a first show, and luckily everyone said thumbs up and here we are with a two-season order.

Question: We know the universe of “The Walking Dead.” We know how it works and we know that it’s going to be really fast.

Gale Anne Hurd: Our characters don’t.

Talent left to right: Cliff Curtis (Travis), Gale Anne Hurd (Executive Producer). Photo by RHS Photo. Courtesy of AMC Global.

Question: That’s the thing, but how to play that with the audience? How to play the difference [crosstalk] that we know and they don’t.

Gale Anne Hurd: Well, you know what? I don’t know if you’ve already heard this answer, but Greg’s [Nicotero] not here anymore, so [laughs] I’m going to steal Greg’s answer. Imagine you’re watching a Hitchcock film, and you know there’s a bomb under the table in a briefcase. What that does is create tension and if you have done it right and if you invest in the characters, it creates real concern, and drama. If you do it right, it’s not just frustration that the characters aren’t smart enough to know what they shouldn’t really know, at that point in the apocalypse. I mean, and you can address that too.

Cliff Curtis: It is a basic tenet in genre, you know. There are basic devices that you can use in that genre that’s like, there’s a doorway at the end of the hallway, and you shouldn’t go down that hallway, and by all means you must not open the locked door. [laughs] There it is! [crosstalk] Of course!

Gale Anne Hurd: The movie and the TV show would be over if they didn’t do that [crosstalk] right?

Cliff Curtis: You know what I mean, that’s a basic – so that’s the same premise. That’s like, there’s something that our characters don’t know. It’s a mystery to us. It’s not a mystery to our audience, but we watch, and also we pantomime, like it’s a basic device that we use, that we say the pantomime, the character’s always right there. The kids are like, behind you! Behind you! The monster’s behind you! You know, the characters are like, busy, so they’re going on with their day. Audiences love that. We love that. We love to sort of repeat that for some reason, some mechanism in our brain that loves the entertainment of that tension. It doesn’t seem to hurt this at all. In fact, as you said, it creates the tension, it creates the possibility that the audience knows what’s behind the door, and what’s locked up there, and the characters don’t. The fun is watching the characters struggle with what’s out there in the world and not know. That’s kind of the fun of the show, which you don’t get from the other franchise and that’s the clear distinction between them.

Question: You will have to give several seasons that distinction, because if “Fear” comes to that point of “The Walking Dead,” it should be like something different so the audience…

Gale Anne Hurd: No, the difference really is we’re dealing with completely different dynamics in terms of a blended family, in terms of Los Angeles, an urban setting, it’s East Los Angeles. They’re not going to be out in the woods, it’s going to be a woods-free experience [laughs] and everything about this is dealing with, okay, what happens when your world that is, you’re concerned about your drug-addicted stepson, you’re concerned about your estranged ex-wife, your relationship with your son who feels he’s been supplanted in your heart by this new family. Those are your concerns. Those are what you really care about. Then this happens, and those concerns aren’t going to change, and once again, who can you trust, who can you not trust? What is the role of civil authority, the military, in all this? We’ve really not dealt with that at all in “The Walking Dead.”

Cliff Curtis: It seems the appetite for storytelling can never be satiated. How many ways can you tell a love story? How many ways can you tell…? How many ways can you explore a genre? I think that it’s really determined by how well drawn the characters are, and their relationships. One thing that the creators and everybody at the team are doing a great job of in the show is really working very hard to make the experience of the apocalypse, what’s coming, feel very real, and feel very authentic. There were times I’d walk on set and it really was impressive in terms of how real it felt. It didn’t feel like I was in a genre situation at all. It felt like I really was a high school teacher and we were dealing with a catastrophe, a natural catastrophe that didn’t make any sense.

Gale Anne Hurd: Remember, the characters of “The Walking Dead.” We started this actually with Rick Grimes, Shane Walsh, police officers. They’re used to dealing with crises and emergencies, with carrying guns, shooting guns. They are the people that we would look to, to save us. You’re not looking to an English teacher and a guidance counselor to help you navigate through this new world.

Cliff Curtis: An English teacher.

Question: Do you think with this particular series you are targeting a different audience because “The Walking Dead” is full on horror and gore and all of that stuff, very graphic. And from what I’m hearing, this one is more of a friendlier and you see more of the families and you get to see how the society…. [crosstalk] succumbs to the apocalypse.

Cliff Curtis: Then you have the… sorry.

Gale Anne Hurd: When you see the promo later on, you’ll see, it’s still the same universe. It’s not as if this is the sanitized version that we’re going to cut away, but because we are beginning with normal, real life, it’s as if it started happening today. What would happen? As we know from “The Walking Dead,” things tend to accelerate fairly quickly.

Question: By the nature, it is a slow-burner. It’s actually [crosstalk] a slow…

Gale Anne Hurd: Yes.

Cliff Curtis: Yes, it’s… a slow-burner.

Question: “The Walking Dead” is not. It’s actually totally is the opposite. Do you feel that the audience could be surprised?

Cliff Curtis: I think, professionally it’s been a pleasure to be in the privileged position to have this mothership, which is, you know, the juggernaut, which is the original franchise, and to say we don’t have anything to prove. We’re not competing with that franchise. We’re not going out to sort of try and you know, sort of like be that on steroids. We’re starting afresh. It’s a new show. We’ve got nothing to do with the other show in all practical senses. And to have the quiet confidence of a creative team that knows what they’re doing. We will discover who our audience is, and we’ll take the time to earn that audience, and as that audience gets to know us, we’ll get to evolve as a show. I don’t think anybody or everybody knew what was going to happen with the original show, and if they started out saying, we’re going to be the biggest show in the world, they wouldn’t have become the show that they were. We certainly aren’t making that mistake. We’re saying, well, we’re starting off with a blended family in East LA who doesn’t know what’s going on, and we’ll see where we go with it, and we’ll see who the audience is who relates to these characters. Maybe there will be some migration over, that would be great. Maybe some audience will remain with the other show, and that’s okay. Maybe we’ll build a new audience, and that will be wonderful. We really don’t know. We can’t call it. Nobody can.

Question: Dave [Erickson] was saying that you’ve had quite a bit of input in terms of, like there’s a lot of you in Travis which is weird… How has that process been?

Cliff Curtis: Yeah, it’s strangely like playing… he’s still an American character, and he still is from East LA, well, from LA. He lives in East LA. They were very generous. Dave [Erickson], everybody, Gale [Anne Hurd], AMC, were very generous in giving me this opportunity to sort of allow me to sort of bring aspects, like my character’s name, my last name is Manawa, because I play a lot of Latin rolls. So they thought why don’t we try it with, you could be an American Maori perhaps? So we took that. I’m wearing my character belt today [laughs]. My sister made that, and the costume designer saw that, so that’s really cool. There are little hints, there’s little aspects of me, that reflect who I am and where I’m from, within the character. We don’t make a big deal out of it. [crosstalk] We don’t hit it too hard.

Gale Anne Hurd: That’s one great thing about Los Angeles. It is a melting pot of people from all over, living very tightly packed in an urban setting. In Atlanta you’re not going to find that or certainly in the suburbs around Atlanta. That’s why this is really a blended family in more ways than one. It’s blended culturally, ethnically as well as [crosstalk] there’s sort of stepchildren although they’re not married yet, there’s blended family in that respect.

Cliff Curtis: Yes. There are aspects about ethnicity that I’ve drawn upon that we’ve had, but it’s not really focused on at all. The parts of me that align very much with my character that I really enjoy is he’s an optimist. He believes in the goodness of humanity. He works hard to take care, he has strong core values about family and about people he loves, and about contributing to society. Practical-wise he’s a fixer. He fixes stuff. All of those are things that, I don’t get to play that a lot. I’ve got a lot more in common with an English literature character than I do with me in the character I play in films you know, that I played. I don’t have a lot in common with a CIA agent or an FBI agent or a detective, but an English lit, you know they study the minds, philosophy. My character’s got traits that are more along the lines of relationships. He believes in winning hearts and minds, that’s why he’s a high school teacher, and perhaps why I’m an actor. He believes strongly in the goodness of humanity, and that’s something that’s worth fighting and dying for, the goodness in humanity. I believe in those things and since Dave [Erickson] and everyone’s been very generous in terms of allowing me to affect the evolution of my character by bringing those things into the role. Perhaps that’s what sets him up as a character perhaps not best suited, for this new world. It’s like, oh, he has time to talk about stuff. It’s just he’s completely unprepared and his strengths are also his weaknesses. It’s been really fun.

Question: I heard you saying you’re trying to get them to go down…

Cliff Curtis: Not yet, that was a bit of a joke, but yes. I’m going to pitch [crosstalk] to everybody to sort of like do a season in New Zealand.

Gale Anne Hurd: Field trip!

Question: How does it feel playing this character that believes in the goodness of people and to play it in this world of “The Walking Dead” and specifically this world that is focused in a harsh city and going through a natural disaster, an apocalypse, how do you feel coping with those emotions?

Cliff Curtis: It feels good. It feels good, because it’s like, my character’s not numb to those things. I think that in a world like the other show, characters avoid – the characters are numb. They’ve cut that part of their humanity off. They just don’t deal with shit. It’s so – and perhaps there were other characters in our ensemble that were much quicker to adapt. My character’s not, and that feels good to me because I think I would – I perhaps wouldn’t get there so quickly, and perhaps that makes me vulnerable and I find that really satisfying to have a character like… For example, the distinction between my character and Kim’s [Dickens] character, Madison, mine is named Travis, she’s more of a pragmatist, and I’m more of an idealist. I want to fix stuff, she just wants to get stuff done. You know, the American attitude… [crosstalk] being not from America.

Gale Anne Hurd: Also, she’s like, get the college applications in. I mean, she’s got a checklist because she has a lot of kids to counsel. You have to be quick, you have to get things done, you have to move on. Whereas with you, you know, he wants every student in his classroom to understand what he’s trying to impart.

Cliff Curtis: Yes, I’m studying literature! I’m studying what it is you think and how does… [crosstalk]

Gale Anne Hurd: Why it’s relevant to these kids’ lives.

Cliff Curtis: What you think matters, and how do your feelings and your thoughts correlate, and what actions should follow? You know, that’s like the back of the brain to the front of the brain journey, and this world has not a lot of time for that, to sort of like, let’s sit down and talk about this.

Gale Anne Hurd: Honestly, I know this sounds crazy but there are some things that are addressed in this show I wish I could tell you that will blow you away. That are simply relevant to the world we’re living in now, and that’s what we can do with LA, the urban setting, and these characters.

Question: Does that mean the show is more pessimistic than the other one?

Gale Anne Hurd: No!

Question: Because we’re going to see humanity, civilization decline and fall off and people lose their…

Gale Anne Hurd: No, because… [crosstalk]

Cliff Curtis: I think that’s the fear part. So you can fear, you see…

Gale Anne Hurd: Yes.

Cliff Curtis: You know I’ve got family back home that are just so insanely addicted to the show. [laughs] You know, like, they screamed and yelled at me when I told them I was considering the show, that I must do it. The people that have committed to the show, they’re not just into it for like, the splatter effect. They really believe that the zombies, this is what I understand anyway, they really believe that the show is a metaphor for life and what it reveals is our deep-seated fears about life itself. We just use this device as a device to sort of say, what is your worst fear? You know, and your worst fear is that, to be stuck in a world where we’re all pessimists, and we have no hope of a future for our children and for the people that we love. That’s our worst fear. Our worst fear is not some outbreak or an earthquake, or like some people from over there coming and attacking us. Our worst fear is what goes on, and that’s what I love about my character. His weapons of choice are what’s here and here, not what gun you’re toting or what sword you’re handy with. I’m really excited about the potential of that character.

Gale Anne Hurd: It’s important to remind, I think, ourselves, and I think the viewers, that we’re living in a world in which the news is almost daily in assault and people do find hope in our characters. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t keep watching.

Cliff Curtis: We need characters that are going to say, and we need human beings you know, we are reflecting life we need human beings, we need people on our side who are going to say, yes, things are looking really bad, and that’s okay, and we’re going to be okay and we’re going to figure out what needs to be done so we’re going to be okay and things are going to get better.

Gale Anne Hurd: There are people who will be able to claim that and do it.

Question: All right guys, thank you so much.

Fear The Walking Dead premieres on August 23rd! Looking for more conversations with the talent? Here you go:

-Rubén Blades and Mercedes Mason
-Kim Dickens and Alycia Debnam-Carey
-Frank Dillane and Creator Dave Erickson
-Elizabeth Rodriguez and Lorenzo James Henrie

Geekscape Interviews: ‘Fear The Walking Dead’s Rubén Blades and Mercedes Mason Talk East LA, Snipers, And More!

by Derek KraneveldtAugust 5, 2015

So of course, I jumped at the opportunity to speak with the cast and producers of the new, mysterious companion series, Fear the Walking Dead.

And that was all before that awesome trailer was released.

First up, Rubén Blades and Mercedes Mason, who play Daniel and Ofelia Salazar.

Talent left to right: Mercedes Mason (Ofelia), Ruben Blades (Daniel). Photo by RHS Photo. Courtesy of AMC Global.

Question: Hey, so what can you tell us about your characters?

Rubén Blades: Nothing! There are snipers. They’re reading your mouth. You go like, what do you think about…. No it’s interesting because they said we are going to talk to the media and I said, about what? [laughs]

Rubén Blades: You can’t say anything other than you know… yeah, well, yeah I…

Question : What can you not say?

Mercedes Mason: [laughs] Smart! Wow.

Rubén Blades: I have a relationship with a camel. But… [laughs]

Mercedes Mason: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Rubén Blades: That would be the development…

Question: So, yeah…

Mercedes Mason: Episode 5, Episode 5. Yeah. [laughs]

Rubén Blades: I shouldn’t have said that but…

Question: Yeah.

Rubén Blades: What the hell?

Mercedes Mason: Now we have to kill him I think. That’s what happens.

I play Ofelia, Daniel’s daughter. I’m a daughter of immigrant parents. So, she’s very sort of ambitious but a naïve girl who is very Americanized. She’s you know… been an American now for her whole sort of conscious life. So she’s very protective of her parents and when all of this happens her instinct is to protect them. And little by little, she starts realizing, one, she doesn’t know who her parents are at all, which really has to dictate how she figures herself out, and two, she realizes she can start relying on them and there’s strength there. And it’s almost like they have to weaken to know each other all over again.

Rubén Blades: I’m Daniel Salazar… and Ofelia’s father, and Patricia Reyes Spíndola from Mexico plays my wife. She’s a wonderful actress, really solid. And we come from a Central American country to start a new life in Los Angeles. This scenario… this situation happens, and as this season develops you start realizing that my character has a background that no one knew.

Mercedes Mason: And that includes his daughter. I read the episode where Ofelia discovers something about Daniel. Literally emailed him in a panic. I was like, oh my God, please tell me that you read it. And he’s like no, not yet. And then every day I’m like bugging him I’m like, did you, have you read it?”

Question: [laughs] What kind of background?

Mercedes Mason: Look at you, you’re good. You’re good.

Rubén Blades: It’s interesting because as the story develops his background ends up being helpful. [laughs] It’s interesting, it’s just everyone has a secret. We all do, all of us. And under certain conditions these things can end up being interpreted differently.

Mercedes Mason: But it’s also revealed to us as we go along so… Daniel’s secrets have been revealed to him, mine hasn’t been revealed to me yet so I’m dying to figure out…

Rubén Blades: And that’s like one category… that’s one of the things that…

[Crash in background]

Mercedes Mason: Ooooohhhh, Party foul!

Rubén Blades: Not my drinking. [laughs] I like that about this show though. It also…

Mercedes Mason: It keeps us on our toes.

Rubén Blades: Yeah, you don’t know. You can be anybody. You think, well, I’m a main character. No, [Sound] Fschwhip. [laughs] Not anymore.

I mean somebody bites your ass and you’re dead. I don’t care if you’re Meryl Streep, you’re going. You know they’ll kill you. You don’t know. My band is rooting – I’m a musician, so my band wants me dead. As soon as possible. [laughs]

Mercedes Mason: [laughs] They’re writing anonymous letters…

Rubén Blades: As soon as possible. Why don’t you kill this guy, as soon as he comes in have somebody bite him. Because we want to work, you know? I’m the singer so…

Mercedes Mason: [laughs] They’re just waiting.

Question: So is that what happens when you’re getting the script and every week you’re like, am I dead, am I dead? Is that how it can happen?

Rubén Blades: You don’t know what’s going to happen.

Mercedes Mason: [laughs] We read it backwards.

Rubén Blades: Not a joke. Really, we don’t know. Nobody knows. It’s very interesting.

Question: Do we see any of your musical talents on the show?

Rubén Blades: No, thank God. [laughs]

Rubén Blades: My life is very complicated as it is and… but it’s interesting because it’s not like stereotypical Latino. All of a sudden I’m going to start singing “La Malagueña.” [laughs]

Mercedes Mason: [laughs] He plays… he’s going to do the Polka just to mix it up.

Rubén Blades: So it’s interesting. I don’t know, I hope not.

Question: But if you die, “La vida te da sorpresas” is a really good song.

Rubén Blades: And die with that t-shirt on. [laughs] And have a little plug for myself. When did Salazar start doing that, he knows that song? [laughs] What year is that song? I have a t-shirt actually. I have it there. [laughs] No, I’m serious. “La vida te da sorpresas.”

Talent left to right: Ruben Blades (Daniel), Mercedes Mason (Ofelia). Photo by RHS Photo. Courtesy of AMC Global.

Question: So LA is the background. I mean there’s a lot of Latin community, especially in LA, so can we expect a lot of, you know thinking on the Latin audience like because…

Rubén Blades: No. Not like that because it’s about people. That’s what I like about this. It’s not a token thing. The thing begins to fall apart and all of a sudden because of the situation a family is thrust upon another family basically.

Mercedes Mason: For survival.

Rubén Blades: For survival reasons and all of a sudden, very happily they end up together. [laughs]

Mercedes Mason: And your culture doesn’t mean anything at that point.

Rubén Blades: It doesn’t mean anything. And they don’t care. I used to say this with friends of mine…

Mercedes Mason: Except there’s some respect things.

Rubén Blades: Yeah, absolutely.

Mercedes Mason: You know there are a few cultural things like that, yeah…

Rubén Blades: Cultural things that are different. That are…

Mercedes Mason: …make it difficult to live together, you know co-habitat.

Rubén Blades: You know, right… So it’s an outlook. It’s a way of looking at things. But I tell people, it’s an interesting thing, you go to a museum, right? When you walk in, you see a painting. You react to the painting. You don’t ask…

Mercedes Mason: Who was the painter?

Rubén Blades: Did a black person paint this, a gay person painted this? You know, you don’t ask those stupid questions. You’re touched by the thing. Okay, so, recently some watercolors by Hitler were sold for like $400,000. I looked at them. They were nice. But, dammit Hitler painted them… [laughs] So you go, oh no, I don’t want to have this, you know… so it’s very hard. So you get two families together because of the situation. And then you’re going to react to each other as human beings. Not as these are Latino people. You don’t give a shit, if you’re drowning, you’re like, excuse me, are you Christian? [laughs] No? Okay, but will you throw me that thing anyway?

Mercedes Mason: I’ll drown. [laughs]

Rubén Blades: I need to survive. That’s what happens here. So the Latino scenario is just we are Latins. It doesn’t dictate… no I like that, because it’s about people.

Mercedes Mason: It’s the human condition. It’s about right and wrong. Yeah it has nothing to do with…

Rubén Blades: What do you do in a situation like that?

Question: But I think that’s the best part of this presentation of Latinos because you are not a stereotype…

Mercedes Mason: It’s not a stereotype.

Question: Yes, exactly and that feels great because as a Latina I can relate to that instead of if you were wearing like a Mariachi suit. [laughs]

Mercedes Mason: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well Episode 2… No, I’m kidding… [laughs] But, let me show you pictures…

Question: How do you feel working… uh, it is a different culture. It’s not a stereotype. It is a different culture. We know Latino families are completely different from…

Mercedes Mason: There is a little bit of that. There’s some warmth, there’s some, you know… a little bit of difference there but it doesn’t dictate our behavior. Do you know what I mean? Whereas, traditionally a certain culture would dictate like… if you’re Latin, well you know I’m being stereotypical. You have to wear hoop earrings, you have to say this you have to eat that.

Rubén Blades: I would never permit that to begin with.

Mercedes Mason: I mean he wears hoop earrings in every episode, but that’s his choice. [laughs]

Rubén Blades: It’s like oh… like you said, the big mariachi hat. That has nothing to do with anything.

Question: You’re not Speedy Gonzales. You are your own person.

Rubén Blades: No, and on top of everything the other aspect that I thought was interesting was that the family is from Central America. So that’s unusual, you know… and it’s again more real because you have a lot of Central Americans here in Los Angeles.

Mercedes Mason: Yes.

Rubén Blades: The pupuseria’s and you have all those Koreans you know, also. It’s not like everybody’s Chinese.

Mercedes Mason: Yeah, I was going to say it’s not Asian it’s… right.

Rubén Blades: So, but it was interesting. The way that they came about this was interesting.

Mercedes Mason: And it adds the layers. Especially the fact that Salazar’s left El Salvador because of political reasons. That adds another layer, especially as an actor. You get to add so much into that. That knowledge really colors how you perceive things.

Rubén Blades: Yeah, and it was an interesting thing to do as an actor. If you’re going to be in a series you want something that will be surprising and something that will be challenging. And not this linear kind of, Ricky Ricardo… [laughs] You never know where it’s going and it has a background that is complicated. There are going to be moral judgements. It’s going to be very, very, very interesting to see what your reactions will be. Because, nothing is what it seems to be.

Mercedes Mason: Right, it keeps turning. I have to say I commend AMC as well because it’s quite recent that ethnic leads are even in shows. And again, as human beings not as African American, Latin, Asian, whatever the situation may be. It’s refreshing. It’s especially because the show’s shown in LA, we’re sort of a melting pot of all these cultures. And it’s really – you see all of us we’re sort of every flavor and color of United Benetton so everything’s represented.

Rubén Blades: How can you do a show in New York and not have Latinos in it, for instance, and there’s so many of them. There are so many shows. Right now in, for instance in ‘74 when I got to New York… I think there were two Mexicans in New York. [laughs] Maybe. Never saw a Paraguayan. I met a Paraguayan once and I asked for his autograph because I had never met a Paraguayan. But I’m not important. I said, oh yes you are. [laughs]

Mercedes Mason: Yes you are.

Rubén Blades: Sign this. Because now I know you exist. You know? And there are shows in New York where you don’t see a Latino. Not one, not one. Not even a cab driver. You don’t see them… so now in Mexico… in New York… there are many. So the city has yet another added element. You have Puerto Ricans, of course. Dominicans, of course. And they’re contributing. We’re all contributing to the city. Now we have our Mexicans, we have Ecuadorians, now all of a sudden now there are more groups represented. And I know that… and maybe they think that we’re all the same. We all sing La Cucaracha and we all go bull fighting and have arroz. [laughs] But all that is different you know. The difference between a Mexican, and a Cuban, and a Paraguayan, and Ecuadorian is obvious to us. Not to others. But it creates complexity and they are respecting that in this one because they have a Central American presence. And it’s a very refreshing thing.

Mercedes Mason: But, hopefully if we’ll get to the point where, like AMC, it’s not even talked about. At this point it’s just a family. We’re becoming such an amalgam of different cultures in the world. I mean you know, in 2030 there’s so many mixes there really isn’t a clear line between cultures and the fact that we’re still deviating between well these are the Latins and these… It shouldn’t be like that. We should just all… and that’s what I love about this. One of the things I loved is none of this matters.

When the world is about to end, now what? It becomes a human condition. It becomes, oh my God, who do you rely on? What’s wrong? What’s right? If we were having coffee yesterday as my neighbor now you’re trying to eat my face, am I allowed to kill you? [laughs] I saw you…

Rubén Blades: Not this beautiful. That happens to be my daughter dammit. [laughs]

Mercedes Mason: Not the face, Not the face!

Question: He’s your dad, I wouldn’t do that.

Mercedes Mason: Thank you. Yes. He is.

Question: He looks dangerous.

Mercedes Mason: I cannot wait for you guys to see all… you’re going to die…

Rubén Blades: It’s very interesting you see. It’s going to be very interesting. I wish you…

Mercedes Mason: Hang on, when I read it, I literally emailed him in such a panic. I was so excited.

Rubén Blades: I wish I could see your… the faces of everyone here.

Mercedes Mason: Yes, yes, yes. Quick guys, give me all your numbers we’re going to Skype. [laughs]

Mercedes Mason: When it comes out…

Question: I noticed that also that all the characters are blue collar or social workers but they’re kind of real. Does that add to the show or there’s no entertainment lawyer or artist. They would die first, no? [laughter]

Mercedes Mason: But it’s also East LA. Like to me, when you come to LA you’d want to be in the entertainment business. You go to Hollywood, you go you know… there’s a different vibe. For us, it’s survival. Again, like Ofelia’s parents came to create a new life. To survive. It had nothing to do with Hollywood.

Rubén Blades: I’m a barber.

Mercedes Mason: Yeah. It had to do with creating a new life. And I think, you know you go to East LA, you go to some other areas of Los Angeles, it’s real. You know people have this impression of glossy LA. And, I love that they’re presenting the gritty aspect of it.

Rubén Blades: And I’m a barber, and that’s it. That’s not what I used to do. But all of a sudden that’s what I need to do to survive. So, it’s interesting.

Question: Do you use a blade on one of the zombies? [laughs]

Rubén Blades: We’re going to get shot. [laughs]

Question: They can’t see me…

Rubén Blades: No, they’re over there.

Mercedes Mason: You know what we should do? They are recording we should just sign language and you know…

Question: [laughs] She said yes.

Question: [laughs] Were you fans of the show before-hand?

Rubén Blades: I read the… I’m a contrarian so if everybody talks about something I immediately suspect. [laughs]

So I’ve become suspicious immediately and my first reaction is, I don’t want to see this. But you know what I did though? I have all the comics I collect comic books. So, for many people here, this is the first time they’ve come to Comic-Con? I’ve been coming since ‘85 so… I have like 15,000 comic books.

Question: Do you come to Comic-Con?

Rubén Blades: I used to come more before because what is happening now is that it’s not anymore about comics. It’s more about other things and you go and you walk a block and you step on nine Wookies. You know? [laughs] And when it started getting like that I said it can’t really.

Mercedes Mason: He dresses as a Wookie in the privacy of his own home.

Rubén Blades: So, I’ve been coming here and buying comics and whatnot. So, I’m familiar.

Question: So, do you read comics?

Rubén Blades: Yeah.

Male Speaker 3: What are you reading right now? What do you like?

Rubén Blades: I think, well right now… and you know I call it “Golden Age” but right now los hermanos Hernandez. Do you know them? “Love and Rockets?” Boy, you have to read that.

Question: That’s the name?

Rubén Blades: “Love and Rockets” yeah, los hermanos Hermandez they’re Mexican, the best. Some of the best stories. [inaudible] And Frank… the new take on Batman. Frank Miller? Moore. Alan Moore. So I… the writing has become very, very advanced, I mean it’s pretty good. It’s really good. And I like it because it’s like storyboards so you know you get to develop also a way of looking at things.

Question: So as a fan-boy, a lot of for example Peter Jackson came dressed up. Daniel Radcliffe dressed as Spiderman. So if you could dress up as something you know to blend with the main hall, which character would you choose?

Mercedes Mason: Good question!

Rubén Blades: I would like to be the Invisible Man. [laughs]

Mercedes Mason: I mean you have to do a little Wonder Woman. You have to have a little female power in there.

Fear The Walking Dead premieres on August 23rd! Looking for more conversations with the talent? Here you go:

-Kim Dickens and Alycia Debnam-Carey
-Frank Dillane and Creator Dave Erickson
-Cliff Curtis and Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd
-Elizabeth Rodriguez and Lorenzo James Henrie

Geekscape Interviews: ‘Fear The Walking Dead’s Kim Dickens And Alycia Debnam-Carey Talk About Human-Looking Walkers And More!

by Derek KraneveldtAugust 5, 2015

So of course, I jumped at the opportunity to speak with the cast and producers of the new, mysterious companion series, Fear the Walking Dead.

And that was all before that awesome trailer was released.

You can read my interview with Rubén Blades and Mercedes Mason, who play Daniel and Ofelia Salazar here, and this time around, it’s Kim Dickens And Alycia Debnam-Carey, who portray Madison and Alicia Clark.

Talent left to right: Alycia Debnam-Carey (Alicia), Kim Dickens (Madison). Photo by RHS Photo. Courtesy of AMC Global.

Kim Dickens: Hi, I’m Kim Dickens.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Hi, I’m Alycia Debnam-Carey.

Kim Dickens: She has an Aussie accent.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: I’ve got a crazy last name. Sorry. [laughs]

Question: So ladies, what can you tell us about your characters in the show?

Kim Dickens: I play Madison Clark, who is a high school counselor and mother to Alicia and Nick, a couple of teenagers. One of them is a ne’er-do-well and one of them is a golden child. I’m pointing to Alycia [Debnam-Carey] [Alycia laughs]. We’re sort of forming a new second family with my boyfriend I’m in love with, Cliff [Curtis]. I mean, not Cliff. [Alycia laughs] Cliff’s the actor. I’m kind of in love with him, anyway… Travis, and we’re joining our family, sort of a modern, fractured patchwork family put together. I play the single mom that has been raising her kids and meets the apocalypse.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: So, I play Alicia with the same character name as myself, which is kind of strange. But spelt differently so it is still a little different. [laughs] She’s kind of the weird sister with kind of frustrating needs. She’s the golden child as Kim has said and she’s an over-achiever. She’s in a really great position but she really wants out of Los Angeles. She kind of has a beautiful boyfriend and is ready to go to Berkeley. She’s from a bit of a broken home. She’s lost her dad and the brother’s a little wayward and gone off on his own. He’s suffering with addiction. She sort of feels like kind of caught up in the downward spiral in a way. Though she has a great love for the family, she just wants to get out.

Kim Dickens: To break away from the drama.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Yes.

Kim Dickens: Good luck! [laughs!]

Alycia Debnam-Carey: That’s not going to last long. [laughs]

Question: In the universe of “The Walking Dead,” everything is happening at the same time?

Kim Dickens: It is the same universe and mythology as “The Walking Dead” but we are before that. Before you meet Sheriff Grimes and his coma and everything, we are sort of what happens during that coma and a little bit before that, in a different part of the United States.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: It shows you the crumbling of civilization and how something like this epidemic would affect society and the speed at which it happens, too.

Question: Is that going to go slow or –

Kim Dickens: It is a little bit, we call it a bit of a slow burn, you know.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: It’s certainly what our first season really focuses on – the destruction of society.

Kim Dickens: It’s like the initial crumbling. It’s like the first three weeks where it’s all of happening. It’s really the Internet rumors and the paranoia of a virus….

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Conspiracy.

Kim Dickens: Conspiracy theories. We’ve covered about three weeks in our first season of six episodes.

Question: How soon in your show will be seeing walkers and things like that?

Kim Dickens: I don’t know. You have to tune in.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: I know! [laughs]

Kim Dickens: I don’t know. We could wait until the very end of the season and what that will be like but no.

Question: [laughs] So they’re not necessarily at the beginning?

Kim Dickens: I don’t think I could give any spoilers away but they’re going to be there.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: It is the same world.

Kim Dickens: It will surprise you.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: We’re uncovering it in a very different way. These zombies, these are not looking like what we already know in “The Walking Dead.” They’re not kind of like those zombies as we know it.

Kim Dickens: They still look hauntingly familiar like your neighbor and your co-workers. It’s a little…

Alycia Debnam-Carey: They’ve very humanistic still. That makes it harder to tell.

Kim Dickens: It makes it very confusing as to how to handle it.

Question: It’s not clear like what happened, how it all came to be like that. I was reading – it’s going to be happening with the rumors and everything. Do you think at one point, you are going to know what happened?

Kim Dickens: I don’t know. I don’t think that’s our priority to sort of unearth what the cause of it is, but you never know –

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Where the show might lead us.

Question: How would you say that the style of “Fear the Walking Dead” is different from the style of “The Walking Dead?”

Kim Dickens: How our title is different?

Question: The style, the style of the show.

Kim Dickens: Oh, the style.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: The style is really different. The setting of Los Angeles makes it initially so, the environment is different. I look at it because I’m a fan of the original “The Walking Dead.” It has got a quiet provincial feel in a way. It’s rural, it’s out in the woods and it’s very pulled back or stripped back. This one is very urban. It’s the community, it’s the city, and it’s a cultural melting pot. It’s in every sense artistic as well. It feels very layered. The original of course is, too. This one is stacked with so many layers. You slowly start to see how that crumbles away.

Kim Dickens: A very urban, grounded, diverse community. It’s not your typical Los Angeles with red carpets and stuff. Though I think it will be really fun if walkers did ruin someone’s red carpet moment.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: You see like, a Hollywood celebrity walking around with half a face. [laughs]

Kim Dickens: We have got to get some cameos.

Question: You’re a fan of the show. I mean how cool is it to get this role?

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Oh, it’s awesome. To be honest, I hadn’t watched it before and then I got the gig. Then at once I have to go and watch it now. It’s given me an excuse to like, binge-watch three weeks of amazing television. Then after that I very quickly fell in love with the show. It is such an amazing, complex drama and it’s almost like the walkers are like a side plot in a weird way. I think that’s how our show is great, too. It has so much dense drama, personal interactions and human dynamics and that for us I think is a real feast.

Question: Are they staying in L.A. or are they leaving L.A. at that point or deciding to run away from it?

Alycia Debnam-Carey: We’re staying in L.A. for the first season. We don’t know beyond that.

Question: Is it shot only in L.A.?

Kim Dickens: We shot the pilot in L.A. and then we had to go to Vancouver to shoot the rest of our season, which is another five episodes. Now we’re in L.A. for about three weeks shooting. We’re shooting right now. We’re shooting more exteriors in L.A. It’s not just like going in or out of the doors. It’s like full scenes that are in the environment of L.A.

Question: Anything there, anything iconic –

Kim Dickens: Right now we are in East L.A. That’s where we’re filming. They’re going to grab some skylines. We’re going to see the beach. They’re going to see stuff.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: We’re going to have iconic smoggy sunsets. [laughs] That’s so typically L.A. It doesn’t feel like any other city. East L.A. is such a different Los Angeles to what you typically think of as L.A.

Talent left to right: Kim Dickens (Madison), Alycia Debnam-Carey (Alicia). Photo by RHS Photo. Courtesy of AMC Global.

Question: How are the special effects? Was it a fun thing to do? Or a tedious process?

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Any kind of special effects is always really fun I think.

Kim Dickens: I like the action stuff that we’re doing. For me it’s been probably one of the most exhausting jobs I’ve ever had but the most fun. I get a little bit – I love the action stuff and if I get just a dialog scene, I’m kind of like, eh.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: It’s a little give and take.

Kim Dickens: We can wrestle and fight.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: You are up until often the middle of the night. The next day we all just have bruises everywhere. The last couple of days I just had to cover up my legs with just make-up powder because it has been terrible. [laughs]

Kim Dickens: We like to do as much stuff as we can.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: It’s just so fun.

Question: How is it working with Cliff [Curtis]? Have you met him before?

Kim Dickens: I never met him before but I camera-tested with him for the role. He’s just a lovely person. He’s like a New Zealand manly man but there’s such tenderness and sweetness in his heart and soul. He’s just like really a magical person and such an artful soul. It’s such a joy to work with him.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: The way he works, too. He’s such a joy to watch. He comes into a scene sort of just nothing and then just finds it. It’s amazing. It’s such a treat. Both Kim [Dickens] and Cliff [Curtis] are amazing.

Question: How do you think a fan of “The Walking Dead” will react to “Fear the Walking Dead”?

Kim Dickens: I hope they have a strong reaction to it.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Whether they’ll love it or hate it I’m not sure. I think that it is so different. I think maybe that will be a little bit of a shock at first. It is very, very different. I think people will really come around to it especially by Episode 6 I think it will really get locked in. They’ll be like, wait a second. It’s a whole different game now!

Kim Dickens: I think it’s such a passionate audience. I think they’re ready to give us a chance. They really believe in the show runners and creators and all that: Robert Kirkman and… I think they’re going to have to make that decision when they see it. I think they’re going to have to allow it to be different. I feel like they’re pretty open-minded and like I said they have a very passionate, voracious appetite for it. I hope we please them.

Question: How hands-on is Robert Kirkman on the set? Is he there all the time?

Kim Dickens: He’s not there all the time but he’s our boss. He’s our guy. He’s our visionary.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: He’s very hands-on.

Question: What’s he like?

Kim Dickens: He’s great. He’s very funny. He’s fantastic. He’s a warm, big guy and he’s a fan of so many shows like himself. We were just talking to Elizabeth [Rodriguez] and he’s such a huge of “Orange is the New Black.” He just knows, you know, he just loves the work.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: He’s very invested in it.

Question: If you could actually meet some of the characters of “The Walking Dead,” which ones…?

Kim Dickens: Sherriff Grimes for me.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Yes, me too, or Norman Reedus. I think that would be a fun one.

Kim Dickens: Is he the character? You mean Daryl? [laughs]

Alycia Debnam-Carey: I mean Daryl or Norman [Reedus] I like! You know what I mean. [laughs]

Kim Dickens: Yes, that would be awesome.

Question: How does it feel working in this particular series because the writer is basically competing with himself from 20 years ago and it’s a different story? We’re seeing kind of the beginning and how everything went to hell basically. How does it feel working on something you know is going to end up badly? You have to pretend, oh, it’s just rumors.

Kim Dickens: I think we just really grounded and rooted the show in these characters and these relationships, you know, that are very real and now we just play into that. What would I do to survive? What would I do to figure this out? What is the best choice? As actors we get in there, we pretend. [Alycia laughs] I personally began watching “The Walking Dead” and when I got close to this role I stopped because I didn’t want to have a preconceived idea of what my character was going to know. In fact I was advised that I shouldn’t know any more.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: The discovery was kind of a hard thing. It’s a slow burn and it takes time to reveal itself.

Kim Dickens: It takes the moments of discovery and paranoia, the questioning, and naiveté. We’re in the dark.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: As humans you try to justify anything. Anything abnormal you really try to make it logical, make sense of it. All of those nuances are so important to making this world of discovery real. I think that’s what such an essence of this show, “Fear the Walking Dead.” It’s all about what is coming, the unexpected, and the unknown.

Kim Dickens: The audience is going to be just screaming at us on TV. What are you doing? Don’t do that!

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Yes, yes! It’s got some great little typical light moments. It’s great.

Question: How much were you told about the character in your first season when you started? Were you told everything and how safe did you feel in “The Walking Dead” world?

Alycia Debnam-Carey: It feels like on every show now they’re killing off leads.

Kim Dickens: I was given the basic outline of my character and a lot of back story that really helped me inform her but beyond what happens in the future I don’t really know except when I get the scripts. I’m pretty excited.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: They’re pretty quiet in the scripts, too. They release them only when they need to. That’s the show. [Alycia laughs]

Question: Does the show talk about the official reaction of the government and the politics and stuff like that? Is it part of the show?

Kim Dickens: Is that a spoiler?

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Yes. [laughs]

Kim Dickens: It’s interesting because of what you do look for, you know… The biggest fear for the characters and I think the thing that will plug in with the audiences is the fear that you’re not able to protect yourself. You do turn to your authority figures.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Who do you trust?

Kim Dickens: Yes. Who do you trust and who can you trust and who shows up for these people? It would be interesting to see.

Question: How would you cope? How would you fare?

Kim Dickens: Terribly.

Alycia Debnam-Carey: Badly. I think if there’s anything we’ve actually learned from this show it was, we would not do very well! [laughs]

Fear The Walking Dead premieres on August 23rd! Looking for more conversations with the talent? Here you go:

-Rubén Blades and Mercedes Mason
-Frank Dillane and Creator Dave Erickson
-Cliff Curtis and Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd
-Elizabeth Rodriguez and Lorenzo James Henrie

Geekscape Interviews: ‘Fear The Walking Dead’s Frank Dillane and Creator Dave Erickson Talk Audience Reaction And More!

by Derek KraneveldtAugust 5, 2015

So of course, I jumped at the opportunity to speak with the cast and producers of the new, mysterious companion series, Fear the Walking Dead.

And that was all before that awesome trailer was released.

My favourite interview of the entire convention is transcribed in full below. Sons of Anarchy producer Dave Erickson acts as executive producer, writer, and showrunner of the upcoming series, and he had some incredible insights on what we’re set to see later this month. I really, really with that Frank Dillane was able to answer more questions, but Erickson’s enthusiastic, intricate answers took most of our allowed time.

Question: So guys, how do you feel that the audience and the fans of “The Walking Dead” will respond here?

Dave Erickson: I think they’ll love it. No. [laughs] I think the show’s – there is enough connective tissue – there is enough, we’re living in the same world that Robert [Kirkman] created and the same mythology, the same rules apply to the walkers are infected, and so I think there’s definitely – there’s enough. It’s in the heart and soul of the original and the comic is present. I’d like to think that, maybe, there will be some folks who come to the show who don’t – I know there’s maybe one person left in the world who hasn’t seen “The Walking Dead.”

Question: Yeah.

Dave Erickson: But there may be some who would – we’ll see. A lot of people have asked me that just because the show does 17 million viewers just in the States and I actually think there is – I feel like Robert [Kirkman] and now, Scott [Gimple] and that group, and [Greg] Nicotero and Gale [Anne Hurd], David [Alpert] – they’ve helped us, because I feel like they’ve created this world in which, I think, we will open strong. I think people will come out of curiosity, and then, I think, we’ve produced a good show and people respond to it whether – I’m not worried about the numbers. I’m not worried about getting near that particular mark because I think it’s a little bit unrealistic for any show to expect to do that, but I think people will like it.

I think there’s – you get to see, especially, the fans of the show because we’re living in this pocket for Season 1 that they didn’t explore in the comic and they didn’t explore in the original, which is we get to see what Rick missed. We get to actually see the fall of the society. You see the fall of the major metropolis, but do so through the prism and filter of this highly dysfunctional blended family, which I promise, there is no resemblance to my own – just watch everything kind of crumble. I think what people will enjoy is the steps and the first time people became aware that these – because one of the things Robert was interested in when we first sat down was you don’t assume just because somebody is turned, they’re coming after you.

You don’t assume that they’re dead. You think that they’re sick or you think that they’re on something. For our characters, it’s – when they actually get to a place where they’re forced to, and Frank’s character has to deal with this pretty early, when they’re forced to deal with somebody who was a friend a day ago, who now is acting this way and I have to do violence to protect myself, Robert and I really wanted to explore what does that mean emotionally and psychologically if you have to do violence, too? Because our walkers still look for the most part – they look human. They have not been degraded and atrophied in a way the wonderful work that Greg and his team have done in the original show. They do wonderful work on our work as well, but it’s a very specific look.

You don’t know in the early days of this if you have to lash out in that way, you don’t know if two days later, the cops will come into your door and say, you know the guy you knocked up the other day, well, yeah. He was sick. So it’s an interesting exploration and it’s all elements of that. The nature of, I think, the brilliant narrative stroke in the comics and coma, it was wonderful and it came before Danny Boyle, I know, but it was a lovely way to dive into the apocalypse, but they really went from zero to apocalypse in a heartbeat and we get the opportunity to extend the season. So that really explains it, so it’s a long waited answer. But yes, that’s the idea.

Talent left to right: David Erickson (Executive Producer and Showrunner) and Frank Dillane (Nick). Photo by RHS Photo. Courtesy of AMC Global.

Question: Setting it in LA, like, what was the reasoning behind that? Do you allow you to…

Dave Erickson: Well, both Robert [Kirkman] and I live there, which was appealing. [laughs] No. I think he very much wanted it. Robert’s from Kentucky, he’s from the South, rural Georgia, it’s been explored on the show for the past several seasons, so to do something that was distinctly urban, to do something that had a very different look, that was the, I think, the first impulse. Second is we definitely wanted to see a major city and try to depict the fall of a major city. What happens – we arrived in Atlanta at the end of the pilot of the original show and the city blocks the dead to try to dramatize what that process would have been like was, I think, was appealing.

For me, dramatically, the show is really about reinvention and it’s about identity and California, the West Coast, LA, specifically. It’s a place where people go to disappear and to reinvent themselves, to change, to become something else. Most of our characters, I won’t say which ones, they’ve had experiences in their past that have scarred them. Things that happened whether crimes done to them, things that they have done and they’ve moved here, they’ve arrived to distance themselves from that. With the onset of the apocalypse, some of these things – the secret that they’ve hid, the things that they have done, their personality traits are, actually, will better suit them for survival.

So it’s about how to become something completely different or dig back into what you were before and find ways to survive. But it just felt like it was a really interesting confluence of, I think, a thematic that works with the city we chose, but also works with our characters, which I think will come across, but that was the reason for LA, as opposed to – and then, also, I live there. And then we went and shot in Vancouver, so it makes absolutely no sense.

[Laughing]

Question: Yeah.

Question: There is no character that’s coming from the entertainment industry. Is it because none of those would survive after that time?

Dave Erickson: No. It’s funny because – no. We went through – Robert [Kirkman] and I went through the process where I would [laugh] I would write a lot of shit and I send it to him, he would go [laughing]. No. There was. There was actually, there was a couple of characters in the first, in the early incarnations, that were – and I think the feeling was and I ultimately agreed that it was an easy place to go. A little bit too expected and it begged for parity. It was the right move not to go in that direction. It’s not to say that that doesn’t happen in the future, but as it is right now.

So the thing about the Los Angeles that we’re representing on the show, it’s East LA. There’s a specific neighborhood, which is very close to the school we shot at in the pilot. The hospital – there’s a hospital, so I mean it all has a very un-Hollywood look to it and that was what was important to us as well. So you don’t see – you’re not going to see Hollywood Boulevard. You’re not going to see the Hills. You’re not going to see the West Side. It’s primarily East Side. The thing about, one of the great things, our director, Adam Davidson captured, he’s from Los Angeles, born and raised. He has a beautiful gift for really getting a sense of place and because our show, we’re catching up, the audience is well ahead of all of our characters, which is a big part of attention for this season is waiting for them to get it and to walk in that fine line where the audience never wants to just slap them and say, wake up, which I think we’ve done.

But it’s like every time you cut your wide shot, you’re looking at these stacks, hill sites, all of these homes, like, one on top another, you’re looking at these packed freeways. You’re looking at – and the audience is going to watch those. They’re great because they bring in the city and they keep the show cinematic and open, but from a story telling perspective, it’s like every person that’s watching the show is thinking they are all going to die, [laugh] and that dude doesn’t know yet. It’s working for us on a number of levels.

Question: I have to ask about casting. Plus, Frank, probably, well, is he kind of new to this role?

Dave Erickson: Any casting process, except for Frank because Frank came in pretty easily. It takes – I was just looking for actors that I hadn’t seen. Cliff [Curtis] has done television, but he hasn’t done a ton of television and I got very lucky because I was just going through, just trying to think of people that I admired and the people whose work I’d seen and I’ve seen Cliff in “Three Kings” and I’ve seen Cliff in “Training Day.” And then I got to watch “The Dark Horse.”

Question: That is new.

Dave Erickson: Yeah.

Question: Yes.

Dave Erickson: And it’s like, he’s a chameleon. He can do anything.

Question: Yeah.

Dave Erickson: And he has this deeply, empathetic quality and for this character because this is like he’s really the moral compass of the show and he’s just so grounded and so rooted and so honest in his performances, so we just got lucky. We Skyped and he was, I think, he was shooting and he was actually playing Christ.

Question: Yeah.

Dave Erickson: I think he [Cliff Curtis] was finishing that film. He was just incredibly gracious because we put him through – he had to fly out on a day’s notice and come to read and he had fly out again on another day’s notice to sit down and do a read with Kim [Dickens] and he was just lovely. And the second, we were talking about it before, the second we saw Kim and Cliff read opposite each other it just – it felt right, in the same way, when we had Frank [Dillane] read with Alycia [Debnam-Carey], it just felt like we had a family and there was, like, the chemistry which is really, really tricky. You hear about that, so many shows they shoot the pilot and then it’s just not working and they start re-casting and that was never ever a question or issue for us at all. Everybody just kind of clicked. And so he’s playing – we’ve also wanted to make sure we were just letting him bring some more of his own identity to the show, so he is of Maori descent. That’s the character. He’s been at America for – he was born and raised in States. I think it’s the first time he’s actually, aside from shooting in New Zealand, where he’s not – there is a quality to him, which is something I actually want to be talked a lot about, just his tats and his experience in his life and my hope is that it will continue to inform the show and inform the character over the next few seasons. No. They had a short answer. He’s awesome, so that was it.

[laughing]

Question: I think it is.

Dave Erickson: Yeah.

Question: If I got it right, there was long running in the alley in one of the teasers. Are you? What are you running from?

Frank Dillane: Ahh.

Dave Erickson: What do you think he’s running from?

[laughing]

Frank Dillane: My girlfriend.

[laughs]

Question: The husband of your girlfriend.

Frank Dillane: Yeah.

[laughs]

Dave Erickson: Yeah. Why do you think I’m running?

[laughs]

Question: How do you do a show that’s part of this huge world that it is “The Walking Dead” and future exist, and the people love it – how do you take this world and turn into something new because it is completely different from what we’ve been hearing and reading and all the things that you’ve been saying about this particular show? It’s going to feel like more like a drama. We’re going to get to know the characters and I’m assuming you’re going to make us fall in love with them and knowing that they’re going to die.

[laughs]

Question: So how do you do that? How do you take these challenges especially because there’s a big fan base?

Dan Erickson: It’s starting with, fundamentally, it’s starting with a family drama and the problems that the family has. Robert [Kirkman], at some point, said we’re just talking about “The Walking Dead” and talking about the quality of the comic and just the show at large. It’s your parents just got divorced, oh, there are zombies. He didn’t get out to the prom, oh, there are zombies. I think that’s, in principle, I think, there are elements of that in the comic and in the original show, but we’re able to, because we stepped back a little bit from it, we’re actually able to establish those dynamics, and really, cement them early on.

So it is about Frank’s [Dillane] character has a very specific problem and something he’s been dealing with for a long time. He will continue to deal with it throughout the season and throughout the show. It’s about Cliff’s [Curtis] character who’s divorced from Liza, played by Elizabeth Rodriguez, and he’s trying to bring his son into Madison’s family with Frank’s character and Alycia [Debnam-Carey] and just the everyday we’re dealing with, the difficulty of that. What does that mean? And what’s great is all of those problems, which I’ve dealt with in my own blended family are actually, they actually work in the world strangely.

It’s in the simple things. It’s like, okay, Dad, I know you want to go back and get your girlfriend. But why can’t we just go? Why can’t we be our own family? Why do we have to go on and blend and be with that family? And it’s putting those characters in this position where who do I save? Who do I love? Is it my biological son? Or do I owe it to – I have fallen in love with this woman. One of the wonderful things I think about the show is that between Cliff and Kim [Dickens], Madison and Travis, there is true love there.

They really do care about each other. You see them together and you want them to stay together and it’s the pressure of the apocalypse as they come that will create fractures of issues and that’s – but there is a love story, fundamentally, it’s a love story there. It’s a love story. It’s really pointing the story between Frank’s character and Madison, his mother as well.

So that, to me, is sort of the heart and soul of it. As long as we can hold true to the problems, those conflicts that we’ve established early on and continue to build on top of those rather than start with the supply run episode, which we will have to do because we have to get supplied. As long as we do that first, I think we’ll be okay. I think it will really be these characters, and yes, and the danger that they made. We will love them and they may die. That’ll help too.

[laughs]

Question: Thank you so much.

Dave Erickson: Thanks guys. I appreciate it.

Question: Thanks.

Fear The Walking Dead premieres on August 23rd! Looking for more conversations with the talent? Here you go:

-Rubén Blades and Mercedes Mason
-Kim Dickens and Alycia Debnam-Carey
-Cliff Curtis and Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd
-Elizabeth Rodriguez and Lorenzo James Henrie

New ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Promo Shows LA Going Dark!

by Derek KraneveldtAugust 3, 2015

Briefly: I’ve felt a little iffy about Fear The Walking Dead since the companion series was first revealed. Sure, the world wants as much The Walking Dead as it can get (you do know that there’s a comic book and incredible video game too, right?), but would this series simply be the same show in a different location, and without the survivors we already know and love?

Hell no. After having an opportunity to speak with the cast and producers of the series at San Diego Comic-Con (more on that in a few days), my qualms have disappeared, and I’m now simply excited to see where East Los Angeles, and the beginnings of the infection take this dysfunctional blended family.

Then, of course, the trailer came out, and solidified my excitement for this starkly different production.

Today, AMC debuted a creepy new teaser for the premiere episode, showing off a bustling Los Angeles quickly becoming dark and smoky.

Take a look at the teaser below, and let us know if you’ll be watching on August 23rd!

‘Fear The Walking Dead’s Second Season To Consist Of 15 Episodes!

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 31, 2015

Hell no. After having an opportunity to speak with the cast and producers of the series at San Diego Comic-Con (more on that this August), my qualms have disappeared, and I’m now simply excited to see where East Los Angeles, and the beginnings of the infection take this dysfunctional blended family.

Then, of course, the trailer came out, and solidified my excitement for this starkly different production.

It definitely looks as though we’ll have no shortage of our new survivors, as at the ongoing Television Critics Association press tours, showrunner Dave Erickson revealed that season two will consist of 15 episodes.

THR’s Lesley Goldberg has learned that the series’ second season will likely be split in two, just like in The Walking Dead proper.

#FearTheWalkingDead S2’s 15 episodes will likely be split in two, a la the flagship http://t.co/yyCgs9v8Xm

— Lesley Goldberg (@Snoodit) July 31, 2015

I wonder what short of split we’ll see next year. I imagine we’ll see the first seven or eight episodes in the Summer, and the remainder in the Winter when The Walking Dead is on its Christmas break. This mean’s we’ll be seeing plenty of the under all year round, which sounds both awesome, and a little bit exhausting.

Are you looking forward to Fear the Walking Dead? Sound out below!

SDCC 2015: The Full Trailer For ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Is Here, And Exciting As Hell!

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 11, 2015

Hell no. After having an opportunity to speak with the cast and producers of the series at San Diego Comic-Con this week (more on that this August), my qualms have disappeared, and I’m now simply excited to see where East Los Angeles, and the beginnings of the infection take this dysfunctional blended family.

The first full trailer for the series has just been revealed, and it does a phenomenal job of setting up the six-episode first season. We see a great deal of the character’s lives before any incident, followed by just a few of the things that they go through after the world, well, ends.

It looks very cool, and I really can’t wait for its August 23rd premiere. Take a look at the trailer below, and be sure to let us know what you think!

Here’s The Awesome Comic-Con Poster For ‘Fear The Walking Dead’

by Derek KraneveldtJune 29, 2015

Briefly: So this poster is awesome.

AMC today debuted the official San Diego Comic-Con poster for this Summer’s anticipated The Walking Dead spinoff, Fear The Walking Dead. We’re bound to see this poster everywhere next week, as The Walking Dead typically has a huge presence at the convention.

We know the series is set in Los Angeles, and this poster features a pretty big LA landmark, along with the tagline ‘fear begins here’. The ominous footprints are what really make the image, however, as those are clearly not the steps of a regular, un-infected human.

Take a look at the image below, and let us know what you think! Fear The Walking Dead premieres later this Summer!

Watch A New Teaser For ‘Fear The Walking Dead’!

by Derek KraneveldtJune 25, 2015

Briefly: We’re finally less than two months away from the highly anticipated premiere of AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead, and today the network debuted a new, 30-second spot for the upcoming series.

In the video, an upset boy talks of ‘reports in five states’, and of people killing each other, and naturally… the adult tells him not to worry about it.

Are you looking forward to the series? I’m really excited to explore the beginning of the outbreak, and see just how the world becomes, well, the world from The Walking Dead.

Take a look at the teaser below, and let us know what you think! Fear The Walking Dead debuts this August!

Here’s The First Poster For AMC’s ‘Fear The Walking Dead’!

by Derek KraneveldtJune 10, 2015

Briefly: Production on AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead is currently underway (which is great, because it’s set to premiere this Summer), and the network has just debuted the first poster for the upcoming series.

The first season will consist of six episodes, and a second season has already been confirmed.

I’m certainly interested to see how the series will turn out, especially as it explores the ‘early’ days of the infection, which is an avenue not explored in any medium that The Walking Dead has taken thus far.

In any case, take a look at the poster below, and let us know if you’re looking forward to the series. Again, Fear the Walking Dead will premiere on AMC in late Summer!

‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Begins Production, Go Behind The Scenes!

by Derek KraneveldtMay 11, 2015

Briefly: AMC’s The Walking Dead spinoff, Fear The Walking Dead is now in production (and it better be, as it’s set to debut this Summer), and AMC has officially shared the series’ first behind-the-scenes video.

The video features creator Robert Kirkman and producers Greg Nicotero and Gale Anne Hurd talking about the completely different nature of this series, and how they envisioned it being completely standalone while fitting in the universe that we already know and love.

It’s short and sweet, but in any case, it’s pretty interesting. Take a look at the video below, and let us know if you’re looking forward to the premiere!

A Strange Virus Is Going Around: Watch The First Teaser For ‘Fear The Walking Dead’!

by Derek KraneveldtMarch 30, 2015

Briefly: AMC finally revealed the official title just a few days ago, and now we officially have the first teaser for this Summer’s Fear the Walking Dead.

Back when franchise creator Robert Kirkman revealed the first details about the spinoff series, it certainly sounded like Fear the Walking Dead wouldn’t be the full-on prequel that many were hoping for. Fans, more than they wanted to see another side of the United States, wanted to see how this whole shitstorm began, but when Kirkman stated that “The timeline is taking place a little bit earlier than the original show,” it didn’t sound as though we’d be getting the origin story many were hoping for.

The first teaser however, makes us feel differently. It’s very short, but highly revelatory on the timeline of the series (or at least its beginning):

Interesting enough, the teaser’s voiceover states that ‘a strange virus is going around.’ Is just being infected enough to turn someone with a weak immune system into a walker? As we all know, we are all infected, and for most it’s, well, actually dying that turns one into a walker, so it’ll be interesting to see how the first full on zombies come to be.

Fear the Walking Dead is set to debut this Summer, and I’m definitely more excited for this series now that we know just when it’ll begin (timeline wise). How do you guys feel about the spinoff? Sound out below!

We Now Have the Title of ‘The Walking Dead’ Spin-Off

by Eric FranciscoMarch 27, 2015

You can rule out The Walking Dead: LA which kind of bums me out.

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman just posted on his Twitter — because, again, this is 2015 — the title of The Walking Dead spin-off set to take place in the once-bustling Los Angeles. Enter: Fear the Walking Dead.

IT'S OFFICIAL! The walking dead companion show on AMC is called FEAR THE WALKING DEAD! Expect more news very soon! #FearTheWalkingDead

— Robert Kirkman (@RobertKirkman) March 27, 2015

Unlike Better Call Saul, which had to show me was good before it could sell me on the idea, a spin-off of The Walking Dead makes perfect sense. I didn’t feel like exploring Breaking Bad again, it felt unnecessary and then Better Call Saul blew me away.

The Walking Dead, however, that I can believe has a big world worth exploring, because the very premise is about exploring the world. I get that it’s a metaphor for American manifest destiny, but the southern locale of The Walking Dead has exhausted me and I’m dying to see how the rest of the world responded to he disease. What is it like in Shanghai? Chicago? Rio de Janeiro? India is one of the most densely-populated countries, there have to be cities still bustling, so busy you can’t even tell the zombie apocalypse happened. Imagine seeing that.

But Los Angeles is the location of this spin-off, which I’m sure was partly chosen for convenience on the staff and production. But how to make entire blocks of LA desolate? That will be interesting to see.