For a show that has a lot of stepping up to do after its parent series literally created a TV staple from the moment it was born, news of AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead” spin-off having less eerie and disturbing zombies is not the kind of reports that fans want to hear.
Premiering this August, the first look at “Fear the Walking Dead” saw a lot of running with an obviously petrified Nick played by Harry Potter alum Frank Dillane scampering for his life from an undetected threat, which is possibly away from the walkers. Two other promotional videos have been released in just a span of few days.
One promo teases a voice-over broadcast about a virus spreading in Los Angeles and that residents are alerted to be safe, while the other one saw the first glimpse of main cast Kim Dickens as Nick’s mother and guidance counselor Madison listening to a flustered student convincing her about the zombie outbreak. Madison seems unmoved, even telling his student to spend some time off the internet, reassuring him that the authorities would tell them if the outbreak was indeed true.
Although the promotional videos were not that lengthy and featured less exchange of dialogues, it does give the fans an idea of how the spin-off show is going to be different from its original series. Official posters for the show have also been released as well as more promotional images with the cast.
Speaking candidly with Vulture, Robert Kirkman, creator of the comics where the series is based on, says the prequel series isn’t going to focus on what caused the zombie abomination but more on the relationship of the main characters adding he always viewed the series as something that has paranoia and is psychological in nature.
In an article posted on EW, Kirkman has also promised fans that unlike “The Walking Dead,” which is now entering its sixth season this October, events of the new series won’t be heading to the woods but will center in the urban stretch of Los Angeles which means fans will get to see action in civilization, something “The Walking Dead” cannot offer. Kirkman says ‘The Walking Dead’ being shot mostly in the woods have become so original that the writers wanted to stray away from that idea for the new series.
As for the walkers of LA, who are now expected to be street-smart, the 36-year-old comic creator states that they won’t be as decayed and horrific as seen in the parent series. They also won’t come in great numbers yet but this is meant to give justice to the timeline of the spin-off to its parent series given that the zombie outbreak would just be beginning when the horror drama’s pilot episode airs in two months.
The series will set sights on the lives of a family in the midst of survival as the zombie apocalypse begins to dawn in Los Angeles and covers the time before Rick, Daryl, and the others became the professional zombie killers they are now, with the series’ timeline highlighting events happening during the time when Rick Grimes was in a coma.