‘The Walking Dead’ Begins Casting For Season 5
AMC has begun the casting process for the fifth season of The Walking Dead.
The show’s casting directors in Los Angeles and Atlanta will begin holding auditions for new series regulars, recurring roles, and guest starring roles. Extras and stand-ins are cast throughout the season on a daily basis, and extras who play zombies are required to attend a brief “Zombie School.” Casting for the spinoff has yet to begin.
AMC renewed The Walking Dead for a fifth season in October.
“This is a show that has erased traditional distinctions between cable and broadcast,” AMC president Charlie Collier said in a statement. “Its expanding base of passionate fans has grown every season, most recently – and most notably – with the season four premiere earlier this month, which broke viewership records for the series and became the biggest non-sports telecast in cable history.”
The season four premiere, “30 Days Without an Accident,” drew a series high of 16.1 million viewers — surpassing the series finale of Breaking Bad, which reached 10.3 million viewers. It also broke the previous record for a cable entertainment program, which was 12.4 million. The premiere drew 10.4 million viewers in the key adults 18-49 demographic.
The Walking Dead midseason finale, “Too Far Gone,” drew 12.05 million viewers. It also saw the death of two major characters and, if star Andrew Lincoln is to be believed, the worst is yet to come.
“I will stress this as well. You haven’t even seen the half of it yet. The back eight is more radical than ever before. It’s almost a tale of two seasons. It really is that radical, the difference between the first eight and the back eight,” Lincoln said.
“And really, trust me, I think that three of the strongest episodes we’ve done this season are yet to come. Probably four,” he added. “There are two episodes that I absolutely adore in the back eight, one of which I think is going to be the most controversial episode that we’ve probably ever been involved in, and that’s saying something.”
The second half of The Walking Dead season four premieres February 9, 2014.
