The Walking Dead is promoting three characters in the zombie apocalypse hit on AMC to the regular cast.
The new series regulars are Alanna Masterson (Tara), Christian Serratos (Rosita), and Andrew J. West (Gareth).
Masterson originally joined the show this season as the ill-fated sister of the Governor’s girlfriend and then accompanied Glenn (Steven Yuen) as on his journey to find Maggie after the prison was overrun by walker. Serratos is the wingwoman of Sgt. Abraham Ford ( portrayed by Michael Cudlitz ) who is escorting Eugene Porter (played by Josh McDermitt), supposedly a scientist who knows the cure to the zombie infection, to Washington, D.C.
West is the boss at Terminus, where — if you’ve seen the season 4 finale [spoiler] — most of the survivors are now imprisoned in a railroad car. There has been much internet speculation that the inhabitants of Terminus are cannibals, and judging by the human bones on the ground briefly visible while Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group tried unsuccessfully to escape, may indeed be accurate.
According to Walking Dead creator/executive producer Robert Kirkman , “Seeing Gareth and Rick and the people of Terminus and our survivors go head-to-head is going to be interesting. There is a very deep, dark and storied history to Terminus and how these people came to be that will be revealed in season five.”
As an aside, wouldn’t it have been a better idea for Rick and company to scope out Terminus from the outside for a couple of days before going in?
Carol and Tyreese are still out there in the woods, so maybe they will mount a rescue mission.
Separately, a Walking Dead spin-off has already been announced by AMC . It more precisely could be called a companion show because it will feature entirely different characters in a different geographical location.
The Walking Dead season 5 will premiere sometime in October. Despite their seemingly headlong rush into Terminus, the survivors — or some of them anyway — apparently will make their escape from that location. “The new season… is rumored to see the survivors travel to Washington D.C. where they will face a ‘new danger and a new enemy’ according to a leaked casting call.”
The Walking Dead finale on March 30 drew about 15.7 million viewers , a huge number but somewhat less than the 16.1 million that watched the season premiere in October. The Walking Dead continues to be the highest rated show on cable television.