CANNES — “The Walking Dead” still has miles to go before the walkers, and everyone else, call it a night. That was the message at a retrospective panel for the series held at Mipcom to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the TV series’ premiere on the AMC network.
Scott Gimple, writer, executive producer and custodian of the “Walking Dead” universe, said the latest spinoff series, “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon,” is just one example of material to be added from the universe based on Robert Kirkman’s graphic novel series. Daryl Dixon will retire in 2023 and was renewed for a fourth and final season in July, which is currently in production in Spain.
Gimple likened the storytelling possibilities to the complex canon of stories and characters that DC and Marvel have assembled in the realm of comics. “It was all one story. It went in all kinds of different directions,” Gimple said. “Even if you have a character who has accomplished so much, you can put them in a different world with different challenges and allow them to evolve through those challenges.”
“Darryl Dixon” stars Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride attended the panel discussion, as did AMC Networks President Dan McDermott. The 40-minute session was moderated by Aisha Tyler, a self-proclaimed superfan who directed four episodes of “The Walking Dead” and also stars in the spinoff series “Fear the Walking Dead.” The Walking Dead Mothership series aired for 11 seasons and ended in 2022.
Tyler told the audience that he has always promoted his love for “The Walking Dead,” even among those who turn a nose for the genre. “This isn’t about zombies; it’s about people. This is a show that asks big questions about what it means to be human,” Tyler said. (That said, performers in harrowing costumes, like the show’s famous “walkers,” shambled through the hallways outside the grand auditorium of the Palais des Festivals, where the sessions took place.)
McDermott echoed Gimple’s belief in the stamina of The Walking Dead universe. “Daryl Dixon” revolves around the story of Reedus’ longtime fan favorite “The Walking Dead” character who wanders into France and encounters an entirely new dynamic within the resistance movement and others.
“There’s a good chance we’ll see this population here 15 years from now,” he says. “There are so many other continents to visit. It’s important how[the characters]evolve over time. It’s really exciting to see how far we can take this.” Gimple added that taking The Walking Dead’s stalwart characters to new lands like France and Spain opens up a treasure chest of storytelling possibilities. “In many ways, (place) gives us a story,” Gimple said.
McBride noted that the emotional tone of “Darryl Dixon” was markedly different in the role of Carol Pelletier, who remains in the United States in search of Daryl. However, Pelletier suffered one tragedy after another during his 11 seasons on “The Walking Dead.”
“She’s a little lighter. I like exploring that for her. There’s a difference between being able to laugh and what works. When Carol is smiling, it works,” McBride said.
Tyler pressed Reedus about the physical nature of his job. “There was a lot of really black eyes on the show, so Scott sometimes had to script it,” Reedus said. “I loved filming Georgia. I just got soaked. It was so humid down there. That’s part of the show too… It’s very physically demanding. We’re all very conscious of it. It’s part of the job.”
The panel was introduced by AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan. She noted that AMC executives warned her to have moderate ratings expectations in 2010, when the series premiered on Halloween night. It was a genre thriller, after all, a zombie apocalypse thriller. “We were told it was a niche of niches,” Dolan said. “It turned out to be a very niche field.”
