Fear the Walking Dead executive producer Greg Nicotero recently sat down to talk about the upcoming companion series to AMC’s The Walking Dead , which will take place in Los Angeles, far removed from where The Walking Dead is set. As far as timing, Fear the Walking Dead ‘s Nicotero says that the first season of The Walking Dead really determined just how the new series will be set into the timeline.
“Robert [Kirkman] always said that Rick’s coma was probably four to five weeks, because I think in his mind that was enough time for the fabric of society to crumble. We’re living loosely in that time frame and if you track season one, we maybe cover three weeks. We’ve structured the season in such a way that, without giving too much away, there’s still a process of discovery to be had once the season ends.”
The leads on ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ seem to be concerned about something. Are they in hiding? Image courtesy of AMC/’Fear the Walking Dead.’
Greg says interactions with the walkers on Fear the Walking Dead will be different as well, particularly with The Walking Dead ‘s zombies looking so different.
“They look, for all intents and purposes, human. Your instinct is not going to be, ‘That’s a zombie, I have to kill it!’ It’s going to be, ‘That’s my neighbor, that’s my friend, that’s my colleague who I had coffee with yesterday and something’s wrong with them, I want to help them. I’m gonna call 911. I can’t get 911 because the circuits are busy.’”
The experience with people having been turned to zombies in such a fresh state will put Fear the Walking Dead ‘s living characters in harm’s way quite often, says Nicotero.
“It becomes this process of discovery. And then when you actually do have to do violence to someone to protect yourself, to protect your family, and you do have to kill, there’s an emotional toll, there’s a psychological toll.”
Everyone learns quickly to ‘Fear the Walking Dead.’ Image courtesy of AMC/’Fear the Walking Dead.’
Speaking of that first season, AMC has released official synopses for the Fear the Walking Dead pilot and second episode, as well as for a detailed plot summary for Fear the Walking Dead ‘s first season.
The pilot
“A highly dysfunctional blended family is forced together when they realize a reported virus is actually the onset of the undead apocalypse.”
The second episode
“While Madison struggles to keep Nick from crippling withdrawal, Travis ventures out to find his son before the city of Los Angeles falls.”
First season synopsis
“Living in the same universe as The Walking Dead , Fear the Walking Dead is a gritty drama that explores the onset of the undead apocalypse through the lens of a fractured family. Set in a city where people come to escape, shield secrets, and bury their pasts, a mysterious outbreak threatens to disrupt what little stability high school guidance counselor Madison Clark and English teacher Travis Manawa have managed to assemble. The everyday pressure of blending two families while dealing with resentful, escapist, and strung out children takes a back seat when society begins to break down. A forced evolution, a necessary survival of the fittest takes hold, and our dysfunctional family must either reinvent themselves or embrace their darker histories.”
Fear the Walking Dead will premiere on August 23 on AMC.
[Featured image courtesy of AMC/ Fear the Walking Dead ]
