The Walking Dead has already been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic from a production standpoint, as the six-episode mini-season that’s currently airing on AMC was made to tide us over until the delayed eleventh run gets here, but it looks like the dystopian drama may touch on the situation in its storylines, too. Obviously, it won’t be doing this directly, but star Lauren Cohan has teased that the writers have been influenced by recent real-world events somewhat.
While appearing on Conan on Wednesday night, Cohan chatted with host Conan O’Brien about potential future plotlines for the show. O’Brien started to joke that TWD should introduce some “zombie deniers, people who don’t think it’s a real virus.” The actress then quickly showed interest in his idea and revealed that, surprisingly, he might not be so far off the mark.
“I want to say that might kind of be the vibe this year,” Cohan said. “Maybe not quite as explicitly, but we’re definitely taking an opportunity, our writers, to let the world inform the show. They always have, but I feel like it’s an exciting year. We know we’re sending off the show, and a lot of people are watching.”
In the early days of the pandemic last year, TWD fans couldn’t help but compare the real-world crisis to the series’ zombie outbreak – memorably, someone recreated the season 1 poster by taking a shot of a deserted Georgia that matched the post-apocalyptic cityscape of the show. So I suppose it shouldn’t be all that shocking that the writing team took inspiration from this and may be drawing some parallels between fact and fiction in season 11. Presumably, the Commonwealth, the large settlement due to play a major role very soon, will be used to reflect society at large.
The eleventh and final season is in production now, cocking in at a hefty 24 episodes, and it’s set to kick off this summer, which is earlier than we expected. In the meantime, The Walking Dead 10×18 “Find Me” – which dives back into Daryl’s past to reveal the origins of his pet dog – airs on AMC this Sunday, March 7th.