‘The Walking Dead’ Star Norman Reedus Talks Season 4

The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus is giving fans some clues as to what lies ahead in season 4.

Although not necessarily a Walking Dead spoiler, Reedus told E!Online that “This season’s by far the best season. The writing is by far the best writing we’ve ever had. This season’s nuts. It’s going to blow people away.”

That’s a familiar refrain from an actor promoting a new TV show or movie, but nonetheless the highly anticipated new season of the AMC zombie apocalypse megahit — the first under new showrunner Scott Gimple — premieres this Sunday night at 9 pm Eastern.

In case you somehow tuned in late — or not at all — to the most popular cable television show in America, The Walking Dead, based on a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman, focuses on a small group of survivors who are led by Georgia Sheriff Rick Grimes (British actor Andrew Lincoln) in a quest to try to find a safe haven far away from virulent zombie-cannibal “walkers,” a.k.a. biters.” As portrayed in season three in particular, some of the humans that they encounter along the way are also equally dangerous as the zombies. In the context of the dangerous world of the survivors, the “walking dead” may also describe the humans who are all infected with the virus in its dormant stage.

Fan favorite Reedus plays Daryl Dixon, an expert hunter and tracker who has evolved into Grimes’ right-hand man.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Reedus said that the deaths of characters Lori, T-Dog, Andrea, and Merle in season 3 left an emotional void for the actors along with the viewers. “It really bums me out. It’s taken three seasons for people to get wrapped up in certain characters. I think once you invest in those characters to have those characters go is just like ”Ah, man.’ I think people are sort of left hanging on a string.'”

He also admitted new cast members — i.e., those Woodbury survivors that come to the prison after last season’s finale — took some getting used to. “It’s weird to delegate authority to newbies in the group and on set… Starting the season, there’s certain techniques that the writers are using to integrate the storylines of other people and it’s interesting.”

Reedus also disclosed that at least for openers, more cast members means less scenes between the core Walking Dead players for whom the audience is most familiar.

About the expanded group dynamic, new faces also means the more opportunity for human-on-human treachery along with the threats from the walkers themselves, he added: “I think the internal fear has always been something hanging in the wind, and who’s gonna f*** over who and who can you trust?… I like people scared on the show. If everyone’s tough, it seems more manageable. I like the fear in season 1, and I think the fear is back in season 4, which is awesome to see people afraid again. That’s really the dynamic that we’re playing with this whole season so far.”

Already released teaser trailers show the prison under attack by a walker onslaught. WetPaint.com speculates that the walkers “will be badder than ever” and that there even may be a consummation of the sexual tension between Daryl and series regular Melissa McBride who plays Carol.

Executive producer Greg Nicotero told Collider.com that in season 4, “You can see, in the first two episodes, that we’ve put our characters in situations where they can’t see it coming. I think that’s exciting because no matter how prepared they think they are and no matter how good of killers they are, in terms of the walkers, they can never be prepared for that, and it’s important.”