AMC’s Walking Dead Spinoff Series Won’t Remain A Prequel. At this past weekend’s South By Southwest Creative Activism panel, Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman made the surprising announcement that Fear The Walking Dead will not be a prequel series for the duration of its run.
When asked how this new series would fit in with The Walking Dead comics and television series Kirkman stated,
It’s not going to relate to the comics at all. From the beginning of the show one thing we’ve heard is, ‘What’s going on over here or there.’ So the intent of the new show is to expand that world and show another corner of the United States and what’s happening there. The timeline is taking place a little bit earlier timeframe than the original show. Rick Grimes woke up from a coma and was like, ‘Oh, man, zombies, weird!’ We’re going to possibly see that unfold a little more in the other show. But I wouldn’t call it ‘prequel’ because the entirety of the show is not going take place before [The Walking Dead]. It will eventually form a path running concurrently.
Kirkman, made it very clear that each series is meant to stand on its own, stating,
One thing that we’re doing with the new show that we’re trying with everything is it’s not derivative. It’s standing on its own. You can watch it by itself and get your own experience. But if you are watching both shows there are things like, ‘Oh they discovered this, or they discovered that in a different way.’ There are a lot of things about The Walking Dead world these characters have to learn or figure out to get by. And there may be some things that are discovered in the companion show that haven’t been discovered in the other show yet. So there could be like a thing where, ‘Oh, they encountered a zombie in season 4 in The Walking Dead that could do this and now we know why that was.’ So we’re going to be doing things like that are going to be pretty cool, but for the most part [the two shows] should be able to stand alone.
Currently in its fifth season, The Walking Dead appears to be experiencing a creative renaissance. Despite its ratings success, by the end of the fourth season even die-hard Walking Dead fans were showing signs of irritation at the shows recycled stories and predictable episode structure. A story that begins with humanity’s doomed attempt at defending itself against the rising tide of undead offers a variety of directions for the new series to unfold. If we are lucky we may just watch a situation unfold where both shows inspire each other to push their creative boundaries. Worst case scenario, we get another dozen hours of television that keeps hammering home the message that humanity is garbage and we’re better off getting decimated by the zombie hordes.
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Source: Entertainment Weekly