What dies never stays dead for long. Though AMC announced earlier this year that the long running Zombie thriller The Walking Dead will come to an end with its eleventh season, it’s far from over. Chief content officer of the AMC franchise, Scott M. Gimple (Fillmore!), sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss the future of The Walking Dead and its many spin-offs.
Season ten of The Walking Dead was continuously interrupted due to COVID-19. Halts in production led to a long hiatus, which in the end led to more episodes. What was originally supposed to be the season ten finale on October 4 ended up just being another cliffhanger. That cliffhanger will have to feed fans until the last six episodes of the season air in February 2021. Gimple revealed the big news that the last episodes, which he refers to as 10c, have finished production.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Gimple said: “Season 10C wrapped very recently, this past week. The shows are amazing. There’s a lot of circumstance that was put on these episodes…they’re just intimate. Initially, I was describing them as “acoustic,” but they aren’t. It turns out it’s more like seeing your favorite band at your favorite bar. They are not a step down in any way as far as the scale — at least, they don’t feel that way. They feel more intimate because they are more [character] focused. There are just a couple of characters per episode, or a few characters per episode, and that makes them special.”
Filming these additional episodes was no easy task though. Gimple revealed to The Hollywood Reporter what it was like shooting a zombie TV series during a global pandemic: “The systems put in place were incredible. AMC took it very, very seriously. There’s a serious testing regimen in place. The way the entire production is organized and the way things are shot and the sets that were chosen … I’m not sure if people are going to notice a difference on screen. I think if they look at certain things and think about them, they will wonder, “Oh, why isn’t the walker nose to nose with Daryl?” Okay, fair play, but short of that? I’m not sure people will actually notice…”
The Walking Dead spin-off Fear the Walking Dead abruptly ended the first half of season six because of COVID-19. A major disappointment at a critical part of the season, Gimple confirmed that the show is now back in production and that they’re filming the remaining nine episodes. He also revealed the big news that they’re already writing scripts for season seven. Fans can now breathe easy knowing that more of Fear the Walking Dead is on its way.