Tag Archives: Fear The Walking Dead

Status update #9 on your favorite new and returning shows

May 4, 2016News, TelevisionAMC, Fear The Walking Dead, FOX, FXX, Game of Thrones, Grimm, HBO, Hulu, Lucifer, Man Seeking Woman, NBC, New Girl, renewal, renewed, Rosewood, Silicon Valley, The Mindy Project, The Path, TV renewal, TV1516statusupdate, VeepScott Meisner

You know the drill by now–here’s a roundup of recently renewed TV series across network and cable stations. Happy to report there are no major cancellations to share.

NBC is clearly a fan of its Friday night genre fare; Grimm will return for a sixth season, albeit a short season order that will produce 13 episodes instead of the customary 22.

FOX, took you long enough! New Girl fans, you can breathe a quiet sigh of relief; the popular sitcom is coming back for a sixth run. Elsewhere on the network, newbies Lucifer and Rosewood have been renewed for second seasons.

FXX made my heart sing when it commissioned a third season of its surreal relationship sitcom Man Seeking Woman. If you’re not watching this one, you’re missing out.

AMC can’t get enough Dead. The Walking Dead‘s companion series Fear the Walking Dead, currently in the middle of its second season run, is confirmed to unspool a third season set to debut in 2017.

HBO, in a move that surprised no one, swiftly renewed its uber-popular fantasy drama Game of Thrones and critically acclaimed comedies Veep and Silicon Valley. It is Thrones‘ seventh, Veep‘s sixth, and Silicon Valley‘s fourth.

Streamer Hulu loves The Mindy Project, just like the rest of us! Mindy Kaling’s sitcom, which moved over from Fox when the network cancelled it after three seasons, is making a fifth season. Also coming back for more is The Path, the buzzy drama about a controversial cult starring Aaron Paul, Hugh Dancy, and Michelle Monaghan.

What to watch this month: ‘Orphan Black,’ ‘Kimmy Schmidt,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ & more

April 3, 2016Images, News, TelevisionAMC, BBC America, Fear The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, HBO, key art, Netflix, Orphan Black, season premiere, series premiere, Silicon Valley, The Night Manager, TV poster, TV reminder, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Veep, what to watch this monthScott Meisner

Winter is coming to television this month. That’s right–Game of Thrones makes its long-awaited return and the world will know the fate of beloved character Jon Snow. With Thrones also comes one-two comedic punch from HBO, Silicon Valley and Veep. Elsewhere, the Walking Dead spinoff takes the high seas, Orphan Black journeys further down the rabbit hole, Kimmy Schmidt begs to be binged, AMC is preparing a miniseries starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie. It’s a jam-packed month for new TV. Jump after the break for premiere dates, posters, and previews. Continue reading What to watch this month: ‘Orphan Black,’ ‘Kimmy Schmidt,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ & more →

What to watch this weekend: AMC’s ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ and Patrick Stewart in Starz’s ‘Blunt Talk’

August 21, 2015Image cache, News, TelevisionAMC, Blunt Talk, Fear The Walking Dead, key art, poster, Starz, TV poster, TV reminderScott Meisner

In TV Land, the people of Los Angeles have no idea what’s about to hit them. After years of tantalizing coverage, the time has finally come to sit back, ~~relax~~ tense up, and enjoy AMC’s Walking Dead companion series, Fear the Walking Dead.

Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead graphic novels and the incredibly popular AMC flagship series of the same name, is behind Fear and he’s joined by many familiar producers including Gale Anne Hurd, Dave Alpert, and Greg Nicotero. Fear stars Kim Dickens, Cliff Curtis, Frank Dillane, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Elizabeth Rodriquez, Lorenzo James Henrie, Ruben Blades, and Mercedes Mason.

This summer at San Diego Comic Con, I learned first-hand just how different the new series feels, tonally, in comparison to the flagship series. When the city gets ripped apart by freshly infected walkers, viewers will be privy to immediate government action and more significantly, we’ll witness a family unequipped for surviving the apocalypse approach the walkers head on. Fear‘s first season, after all, serves as a prequel for fans of the franchise in that events unfold before we meet Rick Grimes and his band of survivors. Remember how Rick was in a coma and missed out on the early days of the walker invasion? This is the period we will live in over the course of Fear‘s first six episodes.

As exhilarating and intriguing as it sounds to be privy to the virus spreading, EP David Erickson reminds viewers that the show will drill its focus on the family at the center of it all. “It starts as a family drama, and we filter the apocalypse through that,” he said to the crowd at Comic Con. It’s about “a highly dysfunctional blended family trying to hold it together.”

Never tuned into The Walking Dead, which enters its sixth season this fall? Fear not (heh!). Kirkman and his team have been adamant in saying that Fear stands on its own and does not require you having seen a single episode of their other series.

Fear the Walking Dead premieres Sunday, August 23 at 9pm on AMC. Click here to preview the first three minutes of the highly anticipated pilot episode. And here to watch the official trailer.

Jump after the break to learn more about Patrick Stewart’s return to TV in Blunt Talk. Continue reading What to watch this weekend: AMC’s ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ and Patrick Stewart in Starz’s ‘Blunt Talk’ →

Comic Con: ‘The Walking Dead’ & ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ land premiere dates (Epic trailers inside)

July 13, 2015Images, News, Television, VideoAMC, Comic Con, Fear The Walking Dead, San Diego Comic Con, SDCC15, The Walking Dead, trailer, TV trailerScott Meisner

Screen Shot 2015-07-16 at 3.05.45 AM

The following post contains spoilers for The Walking Dead season 5.

The Walking Dead never fails to impress in San Diego every summer since creator Robert Kirkman and company always share the next season’s jam-packed trailer. The season 6 trailer, hanging after the break, previews the power struggle going on in the not-so-safe-zone known as Alexandria. With Lennie James’ Morgan in the mix, Rick Grimes has someone else to contend with. However, EP Scott M. Gimple states, “Things might not be as they seem…We sometimes play with the truth in trailers.” Interpret that as you will.

What else? After saying that there will be some “flashbackery” and time jumps coming soon, he later corrected himself and said, “A whole lot of flashbacks” are on the way; in fact, an entire episode will be a flashback. The Wolves are coming, as hinted across episodes in season 5; they will factor into the next season in “a way you might not expect,” teased Gimple. Casting announcements were made as well; Corey Hawkins is Heath from the comics, Nurse Jackie‘s Merritt Wever is also playing somebody from the comics, and Ethan Embry is featured in the new trailer.

In addition to Gimple, EPs Gale Anne Hurd, Dave Alpert, and Greg Nicotero were on the panel along with stars Andrew Lincoln, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Michael Cudlitz, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Norman Reedus.

What was it like being there? Well… McBride walked onto the stage with a tray of freshly baked cookies (hello, Scare-ol!). Reedus disclosed the three things he needs to get into character as Daryl Dixon: Motörhead, coffee, and Candy Crush (he’s a level 275 and proud of it!). Cudlitz said of his character, “Abraham’s defining moment hasn’t come yet.” Boom. Do you miss Rick’s beard? So does he? Gimple says his facial hair will continue to serve as a barometer of where his head is at; so, if the proverbial shit continues to hit the fan, expect that beard to be meaner than ever. Kirkman and Lauren Cohan couldn’t make the panel so everyone on the panel wore shirts with the creator’s big head on it and Cohan texted Nicotero for Yeun to read a love note to the fans (it was very sweet and then very funny). Also, an entertaining season 5 blooper reel was shown; unfortunately it wasn’t made available online so you’ll have to nab the DVD to see it.

The Walking Dead premieres its sixth season on Sunday, October 11 at 9pm on AMC. The super-sized 90-minute episode, directed by Greg Nicotero, will be followed by a new installment of Talking Dead hosted by Chris Hardwick. It was also announced that the premiere will screen for fans at Madison Square Garden; details here. Jump into the gallery below to see pictures from the panel as well as first looks at newly decomposed walkers designed, of course, by Mr. Nicotero.

Jump after the break for scoop on companion series Fear the Walking Dead. Continue reading Comic Con: ‘The Walking Dead’ & ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ land premiere dates (Epic trailers inside) →

New ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ clip teases faster walkers [Update: More teasers + Comic Con poster inside]

June 20, 2015Image cache, Television, VideoAMC, Fear The Walking Dead, poster, teaser, TV poster, TV teaserScott Meisner

Here we have the second teaser for AMC’s upcoming prequel spinoff Fear the Walking Dead. At a brisk 30-seconds in length, it stars Frank Dillane (young Tom Riddle from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) running away from…something. Of course, the first thing that should come to mind is WALKER! If that’s the case, this must be a fast sucker. Remember, Fear takes place during the early days of the zombie apocalypse, before the corpse’s have had time to properly decay. So for a walker chasing somebody at this pace in Fear, it makes sense. OR, it could be a crazy ex-boyfriend, or a dad. Notice how Dillane’s character’s shirt is completely unbuttoned and his pants are falling to his knees? All signs point to a quit exit from a bedroom…I’m just saying!

Fear the Walking Dead premieres in August on AMC. Click here to learn more about Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead companion series. You can expect a full-blown trailer to premiere next month at Comic Con. Continue reading New ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ clip teases faster walkers [Update: More teasers + Comic Con poster inside] →

Robert Kirkman confirms ‘Walking Dead’ companion series title [Update: First promo inside]

March 28, 2015Image cache, News, TelevisionAMC, Fear The Walking Dead, promo, teaser, teaser trailer, TV show logo, TV show title, TV teaser trailerScott Meisner

At last, we no longer have to call it the Walking Dead companion series! On Friday, Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman made it official and announced his new AMC series’ name via Twitter: Fear The Walking Dead. See above for the ~~spinoff’s~~ companion series’ logo.

Up to this point, AMC has been referring to Fear The Walking Dead as a “companion series” as opposed to a “spinoff” because while the new show takes place in the same zombie apocalyptic universe as featured in The Walking Dead, it features a brand new cast and it’s set in a distinctly different location (Los Angeles, not Atlanta). Click over to this post for more details.

And don’t forget! The Walking Dead airs its 90-minute (!) fifth season finale this Sunday night at 9pm on AMC.

Update (3/29): “There’s a strange virus” going around in the first promo for Fear The Walking Dead which made its debut tonight during the season finale of The Walking Dead. The trailer backs up what Kirkman said before:

“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.”

Sounds like we’re going to get more insight on how the zombie outbreak unfolded in its early days. Plus, those visuals of cells dividing might be a hint that we’re also going to learn more about the virus and its origins. These are topics mostly untouched by the comics and the flagship TV series. This is pure speculation, of course, but the possibilities are exciting. Watch the promo after the break. Fear premieres this summer on AMC.

[Via TVLine] Continue reading Robert Kirkman confirms ‘Walking Dead’ companion series title [Update: First promo inside] →

‘The Walking Dead’ companion series gets two season order from AMC

March 12, 2015Image cache, News, TelevisionAMC, Fear The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead companion series, TV production still, TV season pickupScott Meisner

I’ve got an update on the shrouded-in-mystery, hotly anticipated Walking Dead companion series. Following its surprise announcement in 2013 and a pilot greenlight in 2014, The Walking Dead spinoff is definitively a-go at AMC with an early two-season pickup order by the network. The first season is set to premiere in late summer and it will follow in the flagship series’ footsteps with a truncated six episode start. Season two will air in 2016 and its episode count is still TBD. The series’ title is also being kept under wraps, though IMDb is calling it Fear the Walking Dead.

What is there to know about the series so far? Not much. AMC is calling it a “companion series” as opposed to a “spinoff” because although it will take place in The Walking Dead universe, it will feature an entirely new cast and fresh storylines. It will take place in Los Angeles, showing how the zombie outbreak affected that other part of the country (we’ve hovered around Atlanta for the most part with Rick and the gang). Actors tagged to the show include Cliff Curtis (Gang Related, Trauma), Kim Dickens (House of Cards, Sons of Anarchy, Treme, Lost, Deadwood), Frank Dillane (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), and Alycia Debnam Carey (The 100). Sources say Curtis is the male lead and will be playing Sean Cabrera, a divorced teacher trying to do right by everyone; learn more about the potential list of characters at TVLine. See Curtis, Dickens, and Dillane in a production still above; another one hangs after the break.

Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Nicotero, and David Alpert from The Walking Dead are serving as executive producers of the companion series. Dave Erickson (Marco Polo, Sons of Anarchy) is showrunner and an EP; he co-created and co-wrote the pilot with Kirkman.

AMC president Charlie Collier said this in a statement: “We take incredibly seriously the notion of building a satisfying companion series to the number one show on television. From the beginning of The Walking Dead on AMC, we’ve been asked questions about what was going on in other parts of the zombie apocalypse, and what it looked like as the world really did ‘turn.’ Through this new series, we’re going to find out. Robert Kirkman, Dave Erickson and their writing team, along with an incomparable set of producers, cast and crew have created something remarkable and clearly distinct. We respectfully follow the request of Monty Python as we bring out (the latest of) our Dead.”

Kirkman added: “We feel empowered by this two-season commitment, a serious show of faith from our network partner AMC. I personally take it as a sign that they believe, like we do, that we’ve accomplished our goal of developing something original that can pay tribute to the original show and expand the world I created while at the same time having something new to say with this story. I’m very grateful that we now have the opportunity to tell this amazing story and show the fans that we really haven’t scratched the surface yet when it comes to The Walking Dead.”

And Erikson chimed in: “This vote of confidence from our partners at AMC is gratifying, to say the least. We’ve been blessed with amazing writers and a stellar cast — and we can’t wait to build this apocalyptic drama over the next two seasons and hopefully beyond.”

Stick it here as more details leak out. Currently, The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 10pm on AMC.

Update (3/14): Robert Kirkman briefly discussed the Walking Dead companion series this month during a panel at SXSW. Jump after the break for choice quotes. Continue reading ‘The Walking Dead’ companion series gets two season order from AMC →

Eye ‘The Walking Dead’ season 5 poster; plus AMC orders companion series pilot

September 5, 2014News, TelevisionAMC, Fear The Walking Dead, pilot order, poster, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead companion series, The Walking Dead season 5, TV posterScott Meisner

Here we have The Walking Dead‘s season 5 poster (or key art), and as is tradition, it features Rick Grimes alone: arriving, surviving, and thriving on his newfound confidence and brutality. I’m not sure which is more intimidating–his silver pistol or that ever-growing beard (didn’t Michonne find him a razor awhile back?). The season’s tagline: “Hunt or be hunted.” The Termites of Terminus are, in a word, screwed.

In other Walking Dead news, AMC has ordered a pilot episode of the Walking Dead “companion series” that was originally announced last September. Let’s not call it a spinoff because although the new series will take place in the same zombie apocalypse universe as the flagship series, it will not feature any characters from it. It will follow a completely different band of survivors in a different, still unknown location (read: not in Georgia where the current series takes place). The creatives behind the flagship, namely Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, and David Alpert, will also serve as executive producers of the companion series. Dave Erickson (Marco Polo, Sons of Anarchy), who co-created and co-wrote the companion series pilot with Kirkman, will serve as an executive producer and showrunner. The pilot is scheduled to shoot later this year, and if all goes according to plan the network will air a second Walking Dead show sometime in 2015. You want to know what I can’t wait for? Since the new series will take place in the same universe as The Walking Dead, you can bet there will be a crossover episode where Rick and co. intersect with the new survivors and that day will be epic. Jump after the break for press quotes from AMC head Charlie Collier, Kirkman, and Erickson.

The Walking Dead returns Sunday, October 12 at 9PM on AMC. Click here to watch the incredible season 5 trailer. Continue reading Eye ‘The Walking Dead’ season 5 poster; plus AMC orders companion series pilot →

AMC greenlights a ‘Walking Dead’ companion series with Robert Kirkman at the helm

September 20, 2013News, TelevisionAMC, Fear The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman, spinoff, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead companion series, TV spinoffScott Meisner

Shortly after announcing a spinoff series from the land of Breaking Bad in the tentatively titled Better Call Saul, AMC is more than kicking around the idea of launching a new series set in the post-apocalyptic world of their other hugely successful show The Walking Dead. The cabler is calling it a “companion series” and Walking Dead executive producers Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, and David Alpert are all on board with it. Essentially the new series will take place in the world that Kirkman created in the comics, but it won’t be shackled to his story since it will follow a completely different group of people surviving the zombie apocalypse. The following statements paint a clearer picture for what’s in mind.

Kirkman: “After 10 years of writing the comic book series and being so close to the debut of our fourth, and in my opinion, best season of the TV series, I couldn’t be more thrilled about getting the chance to create a new corner of The Walking Dead universe. The opportunity to make a show that isn’t tethered by the events of the comic book, and is truly a blank page, has set my creativity racing.”

AMC president Charlie Collier: “Building on the success of the most popular show on television for adults 18-49 is literally a no-brainer. We look forward to working with Robert, Gale and Dave again as we develop an entirely new story and cast of characters. It’s a big world and we can’t wait to give fans another unforgettable view of the zombie apocalypse.”

Seems like a fun idea to me. Can you imagine if storylines intertwined and all of a sudden you saw Rick’s camp interfere with the people in the spinoff. It’s not so far-fetched since the same creative minds are in control of both series. We shall wait and see.

The Walking Dead spinoff won’t air until 2015, so for now you can look forward to the return of the flagship series on October 13.