AMC’s mainline adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s hugely successful The Walking Dead is renown for skipping the outbreak of the apocalypse, bypassing patient zero, mass panic and a crumbling society in favor of thrusting protagonist Rick Grimes into the thick of the post-apocalyptic action. At the time, it was hailed as a smart move, considering just how many times a zombie outbreak had been played out across all form of fiction.
But now, with the principal series now shuffling towards its Season 6 premiere, AMC is confident enough to revisit that formative turning point towards the end of days with upcoming companion series, Fear the Walking Dead. And today, we have our very first trailer to clamour over.
Placing a heavy emphasis on family, the footage is riddled with tropes that fans of the series will recognize immediately – but that’s not to say Fear the Walking Dead will coast into its premiere with recycled ideas. With Robert Kirkman acting as a writer and producer, joining a writing team that also comprises Dave Erickson, there’s a lot of potential within the show’s premise. Potential that could see it go on to establish itself as a bona fide series, rather than just existing as a smaller companion piece.
“Robert Kirkman, Dave Erickson and the fantastic writers, producers, cast and crew responsible for bringing ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ to life have been hard at work creating an entirely distinct and compelling new series,” said Charlie Collier, AMC and SundanceTV president. “We join ‘Fear’ before the rise of the zombie apocalypse with an interesting family dynamic as its entry point. After years of planning, that we are now only six weeks from sharing ‘Fear’ with the world is truly exciting.”
AMC’s companion series Fear The Walking Dead will march slowly but surely onto TV screens in August.
