AMC announced a few months ago that the cable network is officially working on the Walking Dead spinoff. The project is being described as a “companion series” and while the show is not going to go straight-to-series, a pilot has been ordered for the project, which will land in The Walking Dead universe.
Here’s what we know about the upcoming Walking Dead companion pilot.
Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert and Dave Erickson are all involved with The Walking Dead and will all executive produce the new pilot. In addition, Erickson is signed on as the showrunner for the pilot, which is fitting considering he co-created and co-wrote the pilot. Shooting is expected to begin before the end of the year, and AMC President Charlie Collier did give us some hints about the premise, noting that “fans have been curious about what is going on in the zombie apocalypse in other parts of the world.” If the new pilot does take a more global look at the universe, it would be a smart move, as there would be infinite potential to market the series around the world.
Kirman "There are many corners of The Walking Dead universe that remain unseen in the shadows. Being given the opportunity to shine a light into those corners and see what lurks out there is an absolute thrill. I know the fans are anxious to hear what Dave and I have been cooking up for this new version of The Walking Dead, and I’m happy to be one step closer to sharing it with them.”
New Details December 2nd 2014
People are provisionally calling the show Cobalt for example, either as appreciation of this Twitter joker, an obscure reference to an app-based game, a coy nod to a chemical element or something else which we don’t understand at all.
British actor Frank Dillane (best known as Tom Riddle Jnr in Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince) will play a young man with a drug problem, while Alycia Debnam-Carey (seen in Into The Storm) portrays his ambitious sister.
Both characters’ on-screen mum (as yet uncast) will be one of the leads, and a professional guidance counsellor. A male divorced teacher is another key role. None of this tells us much of the plot, though, but it does rule a few things out - in particular, it seems to rule out the theory that a team of top scientists would be the core cast.
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The Walking Dead spinoff will center around Sean Cabrera, a divorced male teacher, and Nancy Tompkins, a female guidance counselor. Dillane will play Nancy’s screwup teenage son Nick, who’s fighting a drug addiction. Debnam Carey will play Nancy’s ambitious and levelheaded daughter Ashley. In addition to Sean and Nancy, roles still remaining to be cast include Sean’s son Cody and “wilted flower child” Andrea.
Rumor has it the new show will take place in the early days of the zombie apocalypse, but that hasn’t yet been confirmed. Shooting on the Walking Dead spinoff a.k.a. Cobalt is expected to begin this month, which means we can probably look forward to meeting the new survivors sometime next year.
