Excited For ‘The Walking Dead’ Spinoff? Executive Producer Gail Hurd Says Keep Waiting – It Hasn’t Been Picked Up Yet
The excitement over a promised Walking Dead spinoff has been palpable in fan communities, but an executive producer for the show warns that the series still hasn’t been picked up, and there’s not yet a date set to air the pilot. Though fans have been anxiously awaiting the spinoff for some time now, it looks as though the wait will go on.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, The Walking Dead‘s executive producer, Gail Hurd, expounded upon a number of things in the series. She discussed whether she believes that shows like The Walking Dead encourage gun violence (she says no), whether actors know at the beginning of a season that their character is getting killed off (no again), and the spinoff.
Filming for the pilot episode of the spinoff was completed on Friday, but there’s no news on when it will air, because Hurd says that the series, marketed as a companion to The Walking Dead, has not yet been picked up. Robert Kirkman talked to EW about the spinoff last month, saying it will be “startlingly different,” and that it will be about “a type of family we haven’t explored in Walking Dead.”
There are also hints, according to Vanity Fair, that the spinoff will take place early in the zombie (excuse me, “walker”) apocalypse, possibly providing viewers with more information about what went on during the time that Rick was comatose, and might carry some information about just how the outbreak began — which, in turn, might offer some hints about whether there is any possible solution.
As for the spinoff’s release, ComicBook speculates that the series might be timed to air between seasons of the original Walking Dead, but Hurd’s interview suggests that there really is no timeline yet.
In the meantime, the original Walking Dead series is just over halfway through its fifth season, and is still keeping fans, even those who’ve read the comics, guessing. Currently, fans are discussing and debating a new character who just arrived on the show. There’s discussion of whether new arrival, who introduces himself only as Aaron, will carry on the story line led by Aaron in the comics. (More about that here, but beware of possible spoilers if you haven’t read the comics.)
It seems likely that with the creators of the original series involved, the Walking Dead spinoff will be as full of suspense, and leave fans just as hungry for the next episode each week, but for the moment, there are still no answers on when exactly that will happen.
[Photo by: Kevin Winter/Getty Images]
