Third The Walking Dead series ordered, set to star two young women
Today, AMC decided to give the green light to a still-untitled from franchise boss Scott M. Gimple alongside writer Matt Negrete, one that is apparently set to “feature two young female protagonists and focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the apocalypse as we know it. Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. In the end, all of them will be changed forever. Grown-up and cemented in their identities, both good and bad.”
So basically, it’s like getting two young, female versions of Carl that the show is hopefully not going to be killing off at some inopportune time. It’s a show about what it’s like to grow up in this sort of environment and not really know any other world before this. There are ten episodes ordered at the moment for this show, which is actually more than either The Walking Dead or Fear the Walking Dead got in their first go-around. Consider that a glowing endorsement?
Now, let’s get to the part of this announcement where bosses and executives pat themselves on the back for all of their work.
Scott Gimple’s proclamation – “Showing audiences an unseen pocket of The Walking Dead universe steeped in a new mythology is a very cool way to celebrate a ‘Decade of the Dead’ on TV and over 15 years of Robert Kirkman’s brilliant comic … Matt Negrete is one of the best writer-producers in TWD’s long history — I’m thrilled to be working beside him to tell stories unlike we’ve seen before, taking our first step into an even larger world.”
Statement from AMC programming head David Madden – “We’re thrilled that the Dead will keep walking into a new corner of the post-apocalyptic world, a corner that will present stories and characters unlike any that The Walking Dead has dramatized thus far, and that is bound to excite one of the most passionate fanbases in television.”
Will this show actually work?
It could, but that’s almost an independent question from whether or not there is an appetite for a third zombie series when you’ve already got two other ones out there that are posting smaller and smaller ratings with every passing season. The Walking Dead as a franchise is losing some of its bite and we’re not sure that more shows is really the answer … though we would actually be down for a show that’s a little bit more intimate since Fear the Walking Dead can’t actually figure out what it wants to be and The Walking Dead proper has about 2,000 characters and it doesn’t have time to focus in on a good 95% of them longer than a few minutes.
This new series will go into production later this year, with a premiere date currently set for some point in 2020.
What do you think about this idea for a new Walking Dead series … and then, do you actually think that we need it? Share some of your thoughts on the matter in the comments. (Photo: AMC.)