Crossover November: Is there logic to ‘The Last Ship,’ ‘The Walking Dead’ in a similar universe?

There’s always something difficult that comes with thinking about crossovers for post-apocalyptic shows. Given that the world is always on the cusp of ending, how do you really pair different properties together in a way that actually works? The simple answer to this is that more often than not, you really can’t.

We suppose that for this Crossover November article, it would’ve been easy to just pair up “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead” and then calling it a day. The issue there is that it just seems painfully obvious, and even with that, the producers seem wary about the idea of doing a crossover in the near future anyway. Instead, let’s think about something even crazier: What would happen if you brought over some characters from “The Last Ship” on TNT into this world? Could Tom Chandler and Rick Grimes co-exist? What would Rick think about the government that has been instilled by Michener? It’d at least be interesting to watch, even if there is no way that we can seem this happening in a remotely logical way.

The case for a crossover – First and foremost, think in terms of fun. These shows are both fast-paced, exciting series, and there would be something interesting to us about seeing Chandler uncover what could be a mutation of the show’s virus that turns people into the undead. This to us would be the way “The Walking Dead” would exist in this universe. Meanwhile, Chandler and Rachel, provided she survives the events of the finale, could bring hope for a cure again that has not been there since Eugene.

Obviously, “The Last Ship” would probably love the idea of crossing over with this show just for the sake of ratings.

The case against it – You’d have to change the mythologies of both shows, get competing cable networks and studios involved, and then justify taking the time out of normal production for it. There’s zero logical reason for it, and there’s little commercial reason for AMC since their ratings are just fine. If they’re not desperate to throw in “Fear the Walking Dead,” they are not messing with something on another network.

In the end, maybe we’ve just written a case for more fanfiction. Still, we like to play out these ideas in this Crossover November series, and you can head over here to see some other recent subjects! Also, sign up over here to get some other TV scoop on everything we cover at CarterMatt, sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: TNT.)