‘The Walking Dead’: How The Cast And Crew Keep Upcoming Storylines Under Wraps

You would think that AMC’s The Walking Dead would be safe from fans desperate to find out information about the show. After all, the television series is based on the comic books developed by Robert Kirkman, so nothing should be a surprise for Walking Dead fans. However, with the writers at AMC changing things around, sometimes they have to resort to drastic measures to keep upcoming storylines a secret — especially since the advent of drones who can take footage of the set. So how do the cast and crew of The Walking Dead keep things under wraps?

WARNING: This article contains spoilers about AMC’s The Walking Dead. If you have not viewed all available episodes, please proceed with caution.

Even with the television version of The Walking Dead deviating from the comics, sometimes it is necessary to keep filming under wraps in order to maintain secrecy. For example, some of the characters in the comic books are yet to arrive and with many of them having iconic features in the comic books (ie. Heath), it is important to make sure actors cover up in case potential spoiler images are taken unbeknownst to the crew. As Sonequa Martin-Green (who plays Sasha in The Walking Dead) pointed out recently to The Hollywood Reporter, sometimes it is nice to keep things a surprise for the audience.

“Sometimes people have to be covered — because sometimes you can tell a specific story point based on what someone’s wearing or what their makeup looks like — so in that case, we do what we can to cover in order to protect the story. Not to vilify anybody who’s trying to find secrets, just so we can make sure the story is intact for the audience.”

But, with the advent of sites like The Spoiling Dead, the level of secrecy on set is constantly decreasing. So what else can AMC do to help protect their story lines? When The Walking Dead started, auditioning was a bit easier than it is now. It is well known that casting calls go out with fake names now for The Walking Dead. But on top of that, when actors audition they do so with dummy sides (fake scripts). Lauren Cohen was one of the last Walking Dead actors to know who she was playing.

However, executive producer Dave Alpert takes spoilers in his stride. “Ultimately, we try to prevent leaks because it’s nice for the story to come out when the story should come out, but ultimately it’s like if that’s how you want to enjoy the show then go for it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

But it’s not always eager fans who spoil upcoming storylines in The Walking Dead. AMC themselves famously leaked a death, not once, but twice. When advertising the season two DVD of The Walking Dead, AMC accidentally included the death of Shane (Jon Bernthal). Then last year, AMC also released an image of Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) carrying out the lifeless form of Beth Greene (Emily Kinney) — before the West Coast had a chance to view how she died.

The Walking Dead returns to AMC with Season 6 on October 11, 2015.

Do you prefer to watch The Walking Dead with or without spoilers? Let us know by commenting below!

{image credit: AMC]