Fear The Walking Dead - News/Details/Rumours

NUTZZ · 03-12-2014 1:43pm #1

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.

NUTZZ · 03-12-2014 1:51pm

Walking Dead Spin-Off: Meet the Survivors

SEAN CABRERA | A Latino male in his early 40s, Sean is a good man trying to do right by everyone in his life.
CODY CABRERA | Sean’s whip-smart and rebellious teenage son. Known as the angriest kid in town.
NANCY TOMPKINS | A thirtysomething single mom to two kids, Nancy looks like the girl next door, but there’s an edge to her.
NICK TOMPKINS | Nancy’s screwed up teenage son. He’s too old to stay home, too scared to flee.
ASHLEY TOMPKINS | Nancy’s mostly level-headed teenage daughter. Her ambition is in direct proportion to her older brother’s failures. She loves her mom but it’s time to get out of Dodge.
ANDREA CHAPMAN | A somewhat wilted flower child, fortysomething Andrea — yep, another Andrea! — has retreated to the outskirts of the city to recover after a horrible marriage.

5starpool · 03-12-2014 10:26pm

So 'other parts of the world' is probably east or west coast USA then I assume?

NUTZZ · 03-12-2014 11:36pm

5starpool wrote: »

So 'other parts of the world' is probably east or west coast USA then I assume?

Not necessarily, although everything is pretty much rumour at this stage, Kirkman did name-drop France in an interview and mentioned the CDC episode. The episode provided some scientific context in the virus and alluded to efforts of scientists around the world, including France, in combating the disease.

"If I had to do it again, I wouldn't have done the CDC episode. It possibly gave away too much information and was such a big change very early on in the series. I feel like there might have been a better way to wrap up the first season. It ended up being a fun episode. I love the character of Dr. Jenner and thought Noah did an amazing job."

It's possible it will cover multiple locations if the heavily rumored 'scientist stories' are somewhat true. It appears it will have no ties to the characters in TWD or to the comics at all from a few sources.

Bacchus · 04-12-2014 9:19am

Not sure how I feel about it being about "racing for a cure". A cure is a cheat of the premise in my mind. There is no hope, only the walking dead and that is the world we're left with. I guess they could follow that angle but ultimately never find a cure.

That synopsis doesn't make it sound like a global story either. As 5starpool said, it just sound like it's set in another part of America. TBH, I'm not really sure what a spin off show can bring to the table that can't be done on TWD (or hasn't been done already). I guess it would get the burden of being (somewhat) faithful to the comics off their back.

NUTZZ · 06-12-2014 12:59am

Cliff Curtis has been cast as the male lead in The Walking Dead companion series. New Zealand native Curtis, 46, has an eclectic movie résumé, including Three Kings, Bringing Out the Dead, The Insider, Training Day, Whale Rider, Live Free or Die Hard, Push, The Last Airbender, and Blow.

The story revolves around a divorced teacher, played by Cliff Curtis, who is trying to do right by everyone in his life. An early cast breakdown named the character as Sean Cabrera and described him as a Latino in his early 40s.

NUTZZ · 15-12-2014 11:38am

The Walking Dead Spinoff Is Filming In California

Operating under the working title of Cobalt, the as-yet-untitled The Walking Dead companion series for AMC is filming in California, according to a Redditor who received a notification that their neighborhood is being scouted for the project.

Filming for the spinoff had been rumored to be taking place in Pennsylvania, but even if that turns out to be true, it's possible they could shoot the pilot in California and then move the full series to somewhere less costly.

The revelation that the pilot is being filmed under Cobalt was made about a week ago via ScreenRant. The series will star Cliff Curtis in a lead role.

NUTZZ · 22-12-2014 11:09am

Which Character From The Original Series Might Pop Up On ‘Cobalt?’

The Walking Dead spinoff might feature a familiar face that will remind viewers of a tragic moment from the original AMC series.

The Hollywood Reporter recently revealed something interesting about an early version of the pilot for The Walking Dead spinoff — it features “one character who briefly appeared during a key season one episode.” Fansided listed a few different ideas about who this could be, including Vatos leader Guillermo, survivor group member Morales, and CDC doctor Edwin Jenner.

Dr. Edwin Jenner (Noah Emmerich) seems like the most likely candidate for the cameo. He appeared in “TS-19,” which was definitely a “key season one episode.” Dr. Jenner informed Rick Grimes that everyone was already infected with the zombie virus, and this revelation had a big impact on the group of survivors — it made an already-bleak situation seem much worse.

The Inquisitr previously reported that The Walking Dead companion series will take place in Los Angeles, and it would make sense for Dr. Jenner to be there. According to the Centers for Disease Control website, there’s a CDC quarantine station in L.A. One of its directives is to “monitor importations that may have pathogens infectious to humans.” The spinoff will take place at the beginning of the virus outbreak before the events of the original AMC series, so perhaps it will explore more of Jenner’s backstory.

The Walking Dead spinoff is just in the pilot stage, so it could be awhile before it makes to AMC (if it even gets picked up by the network). If you can’t wait to see Dr. Jenner alive and well again, perhaps seeing another familiar face will make the wait a little more bearable.

NUTZZ · 17-01-2015 12:35pm

Robert Kirkman Calls The Walking Dead Companion Series ‘Startlingly Different’

“I will say that this is going to be a show about family,” Kirkman said. “But it’s going to be a show about a different type of family that we haven’t explored in The Walking Dead thus far. So what we’re trying to do with The Walking Dead spinoff is keep the story as familiar as possible for people that love The Walking Dead, so you’ll get the kind of things that you expect from a Walking Dead story. But, at the same time, we’ll want to tell these stories in a completely different way with completely different people in a completely different setting that’s going to make for a fundamentally different show. I think the look and feel of The Walking Dead spinoff is going to be startlingly different.”

Kirkman went on to address the Los Angeles setting, which will provide an interesting contrast to the Atlanta location of the primary series.

“It’s Los Angeles. It’s a corner of the world that we have never explored in the comic book series. So, theoretically, something like this could be happening in Los Angeles in the comic book series, but we don’t show you this area of the country in the comic book series. So it fits within that world, but it is all new characters, all new events and all kinds of crazy stuff.”

Filming of the new series is expected to start in a couple of days.

Dandelion6 · 18-01-2015 10:15am

NUTZZ wrote: »

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.

]

Is that Dillane on the left? RIDE.

How does a drug problem work in a zombie apocalypse though? Be kind of difficult to reach your dealer, I'd imagine.

Paddy Cow · 22-01-2015 6:49pm

Dandelion6 wrote: »

How does a drug problem work in a zombie apocalypse though? Be kind of difficult to reach your dealer, I'd imagine.

Probably the same way Bob being an alco nearly caused Daryl to lose his sh!t ie their addiction puts the rest of the group in danger. If this is set at the initial outbreak, then an addict would be in withdrawal and be a serious liability.

NUTZZ · 24-01-2015 1:15pm

A Walking Dead Spin-Off Character Will Join The Regular Walking Dead

When The Walking Dead spin-off series was announced, the producers were adamant that it would feature all new survivors in a new situation, namely the earliest days of the zombie apocalypse. Apparently now they've realized it might be somewhat helpful to have a more direct tie-in between the old show and the new.

This is probably why The Nerdist is reporting that one of the characters from the prequel will be part of a six-episode arc in the sixth season of The Walking Dead. It'll obviously be the character's future, so viewers will know that he won't be dying in the prequel series, but maybe it'll convince those people who love The Walking Dead but maybe aren't sure they want more Walking Dead that they should check out the spin-off.

By the way, The Nerdist also reports that the series will be titled Fear the Walking Dead.

5starpool · 24-01-2015 3:07pm

Is this due to broadcast at the same time of year as the main series? I'm guessing so by the fact that they are only starting filming now, but it'd be good to have it broadcast largely from April - October.

NUTZZ · 24-01-2015 11:19pm

5starpool wrote: »

Is this due to broadcast at the same time of year as the main series? I'm guessing so by the fact that they are only starting filming now, but it'd be good to have it broadcast largely from April - October.

They've said the companion show will air in the off season of the main show, no date has been announced yet.

JP Liz V1 · 09-03-2015 11:38pm

http://tvline.com/2015/03/09/walking-dead-spinoff-premiere-date-season-order/

AMC has greenlit the still-untitled offshoot for not one but two seasons, with the first six episode season launching in late summer

5starpool · 10-03-2015 12:35pm

6 episode season? Really? I would have thought at least 10-12 episodes.

CramCycle · 10-03-2015 12:44pm

5starpool wrote: »

6 episode season? Really? I would have thought at least 10-12 episodes.

Sounds like they have commisioned one season and they are just airing it over two, and making it sound like good news rather than a long drag between midway finale and the second half

NUTZZ · 14-03-2015 12:34am

The first official photos of 'Fear The Walking Dead' have been released;

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NUTZZ · 15-03-2015 9:56pm

Walking Dead Creator Explains How Spin-Off Is (And Is Not) A Prequel

Entertainment Weekly reports from Kirkman's appearance at a panel on "Creative Activism" at South by Southwest yesterday:

"From the beginning of the show one thing we've heard is, 'What's going on over here or there.' So the intent of the new show is to expand that world and show another corner of the United States and what's happening there. The timeline is taking place a little bit earlier timeframe than the original show. Rick Grimes woke up from a coma and was like, 'Oh, man, zombies, weird!' We're going to possibly see that unfold a little more in the other show. But I wouldn't call it 'prequel' because the entirety of the show is not going take place before [The Walking Dead]. It will eventually form a path running concurrently."

He also noted that each show will stand on its own (i.e., one need not have seen the original show to get hooked on the companion show), though old-school viewers can expect some fan service in the new series.

"One thing that we're doing with the new show that we're trying with everything is it's not derivative," he said. "It's standing on its own. You can watch it by itself and get your own experience. But if you are watching both shows there are things like, 'Oh they discovered this, or they discovered that in a different way.' There are a lot of things about The Walking Dead world these characters have to learn or figure out to get by. And there may be some things that are discovered in the companion show that haven't been discovered in the other show yet. So there could be like a thing where, 'Oh, they encountered a zombie in season 4 in The Walking Dead that could do this and now we know why that was.' So we're going to be doing things like that are going to be pretty cool, but for the most part [the two shows] should be able to stand alone."

NUTZZ · 29-03-2015 3:29pm

https://twitter.com/RobertKirkman/status/581526796958584832

NUTZZ · 30-03-2015 12:00pm

First teaser released;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fal6iObZBE

brianregan09 · 30-03-2015 10:10pm

I'm looking forward to this already looks to have a diffrent feel to the other one which is amazing at the moment

shinny · 31-03-2015 12:17am

Ah it's only a virus sure what harm can it do?

CramCycle · 31-03-2015 9:03am

shinny wrote: »

Ah it's only a virus sure what harm can it do?

Two possible Irish solutions to the walking dead:

1. Plenty of bed rest, make sure he has either stirred or boiled 7up

2. ANTIBIOTICS :rolleyes:

5starpool · 31-03-2015 1:52pm

No air date for this yet I assume? I know it is to be during the off season of the main show, but I wonder how close will they run it to the resumption of the main show? Will it run for 6 weeks finishing 2 weeks before the main show starts back to build hype or will it be properly off season (July/August). I think i'd prefer the latter.

ricero · 31-03-2015 2:21pm

well if its on a sunday night in the USA i would guess it wont air until Game of Thrones finishes its 5th season.

would be crazy to go head to head with them in the ratings.

5starpool · 31-03-2015 3:01pm

Still only takes us up to mid June really I think, and I doubt it will air before then anyhow given when they started filming. My guess would be mid July or so.

DuckStab · 31-03-2015 4:44pm

I'm really looking forward to this, the one issue I have is the stupid name they decided on. May as well have gone the CSI route and called it The Walking Dead: Los Angeles.
Everyone knows it's a spin-off, not sure why they felt the need to signpost it in the title. I would've preferred something like Dead Inside, a callback to the first ep without being too obvious.

Sofiztikated · 02-04-2015 2:12am

DuckStab wrote: »

I'm really looking forward to this, the one issue I have is the stupid name they decided on. May as well have gone the CSI route and called it The Walking Dead: Los Angeles.
Everyone knows it's a spin-off, not sure why they felt the need to signpost it in the title. I would've preferred something like Dead Inside, a callback to the first ep without being too obvious.

While I'm not completely gone on the name, you do have to account for people being stupid. If they didn't reference The Walking Dead, you'd have people thinking "OMG, Diz iz totally a Walking Dead ripoff!!!11!1!one!1eleven!"

Never underestimate the power of stupidity.

mafaa · 30-04-2015 7:34pm

Orange is the New Black actress Elizabeth Rodriguez has joined Fear the Walking Dead

mafaa · 08-05-2015 3:56am

Mercedes Mason Joins AMC’s ‘Fear The Walking Dead’

Fear The Walking Dead - News/Details/Rumours

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