‘The Walking Dead’ season 4 to be followed up with companion series; is it too much?
At the rate that AMC is going right now with some of their franchises, by 2016 they will have greenlit a series featuring zombies who cook meth in an advertising office. They are clearly in love with their three biggest shows, and that is a pretty dangerous game to play with your viewers.
Today, the network announced that in addition to “The Walking Dead” (which is premiering season 4 come October 13), the network is in the process now of creating a brand-new companion series to the juggernaut that will not be so closely tied to the comic series, and will premiere in 2015. It’s clearly a wait to get more zombies, but isn’t there also something very real here in overkill? If you give the audience too much of what they want, it may diminish the overall product.
In a statement, source writer / executive producer Robert Kirkman had the following to say about this news:
“After 10 years of writing the comic book series and being so close to the debut of our fourth, and in my opinion, best season of the TV series, I couldn’t be more thrilled about getting the chance to create a new corner of The Walking Dead universe. The opportunity to make a show that isn’t tethered by the events of the comic book, and is truly a blank page, has set my creativity racing.”
The reason that we have mixed feelings about this idea is pretty simple. We love “The Walking Dead,” and there is no doubt that it is a great series. But one new show spot next year will likely be filled with “Better Call Saul,” and then you’re adding this new companion series to the mix. Where is going to be the place for new original programming? AMC got where it is today by taking risks and being creative, and we are starting to get worried that they are just resting on their laurels. This show could take the place of something that could have otherwise been the next “Breaking Bad.” Heck, we worry that had the Vince Gilligan show been pitched today (assuming that AMC was at the same level of success that they are now), it would not be picked up.
If you want to read more news on “The Walking Dead” season 4, click here for another tease regarding some of the characters and what they could be facing.
Photo: AMC