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| Courtesy AMC blogs |
We already know it will be set in Los Angeles but will it be any way connected to Atlanta or the characters we've come to know and love (and sometimes hate with the fire of a thousand suns)? Here is what Kirkman told EW...
I will say that this is going to be a show about family. 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.
So, startlingly different? The good news for people who've not seen "The Walking Dead" (cave dwellers? astronauts who've been in outer space since 2010?) is that no prior knowledge of the show is needed to sit back and enjoy the spin-off. Kirkman confirmed...
We want it to be a new show that can stand on its own. You could watch "The Walking Dead" spinoff if you’ve never watched an episode of "The Walking Dead" and get a really great, rich, fulfilling experience out of it. It has to be a show that can stand on its own. I think that’s what we’ve accomplished, and we start filming in a couple of days. I’m really excited.
He was pretty talkative during this interview! Cool. Here's what he said about the setting for the series (on which he is also serving as an executive producer)...
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.
So what do you Deadies think? Can I call you Deadies? Will we be satisfied with the series? Since it's set in LA can we hope to see some celebrity walkers? Please, Bill Murray, make an appearance. Seriously.
We'll keep you posted on any more details for the companion series. Meanwhile, the 'Walking Dead' Season Five mid-season premiere airs February 8 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.
-Larissa Mrykalo