As fans of AMC's The Walking Dead huddle around the hot stove this winter, waiting for the second half of Season 5 to arrive, more news about the secretive companion series continues to trickle in. For well over a year now, people have been speculating where The Walking Dead companion series will take place and now the setting of the show's beginning has been revealed: the City of Angels.
Confirming circulating reports, TheWalkingDead.com has stated that the location of The Walking Dead companion series (currently codenamed Cobalt) is the Los Angeles area. It hasn't been revealed what part of L.A. the show will take place in, so there is definitely no guarantee of seeing walkers stumbling around the Hollywood sign, but fans at least now have a good idea of where the new group of survivors will start their apocalyptic journey.
The actual filming location for the companion series has yet to be announced and many warmer states could stand in for the L.A. area. It's also not guaranteed that the show will focus on L.A. for very long, as hinted at on TheWalkingDead.com, so it's possible for only an opening scene or the first episode or two to have an L.A. backdrop. Time will tell what executive producer Robert Kirkman and company have cooking in the cauldron.
Actor Cliff Curtis recently signed on to play what is likely the male lead of the companion series' pilot, joining Frank Dillane and Alycia Debnam Carey in the cast's ranks.
On the other side of the camera, Kirkman co-created and co-wrote the pilot with Dave Erickson (Sons of Anarchy, Low Winter Sun), who will also serve as showrunner and executive producer. The Walking Dead executive producers Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert will handle the same duties on the new series. We'll keep Daily Dead readers updated on The Walking Dead companion series as more announcements are made.
For those that missed it, here’s the previously released press release from AMC, announcing that they moved forward with a pilot order:
“New York, NY – September 5, 2014 – AMC announced today that it has ordered a pilot episode of a companion series for “The Walking Dead.” “The Walking Dead,” which premiered on AMC in October, 2010, has been the #1 program on television among adults 18-49 for the last two years. Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert from “The Walking Dead” are also executive producers of the new project which, like the original, is being produced by AMC Studios. Dave Erickson (“Marco Polo,” “Sons of Anarchy”), who co-created and co-wrote the pilot with Kirkman, will serve as an executive producer and showrunner.
“Almost from the beginning of ‘The Walking Dead’ on AMC, fans have been curious about what is going on in the zombie apocalypse in other parts of the world. In fact, beyond requests for zombie cameos, it’s the question I get asked the most,” said AMC President Charlie Collier. “Obviously, we all take our stewardship of the original franchise incredibly seriously and we, along with Robert, Gale, David and now Dave, are all proceeding with extreme care in order to ensure that we are offering fans something truly compelling, engaging and distinct. We’re thrilled to be taking this next step with these remarkable partners.”
“There are many corners of ‘The Walking Dead’ universe that remain unseen in the shadows. Being given the opportunity to shine a light into those corners and see what lurks out there is an absolute thrill. I know the fans are anxious to hear what Dave and I have been cooking up for this new universe of ‘The Walking Dead,’ and I’m happy to be one step closer to sharing it with them,” said Kirkman.
“I’ve been fortunate to have collaborated with both Robert and AMC on past projects and I’m thrilled to join them again, along with Gale and David, to build upon ‘The Walking Dead’s’ already epic narrative,” said Erickson.
The pilot is scheduled for production in late 2014. No additional details are being provided about the location and/or casting for the pilot at this time.
The highly-anticipated fifth season of “The Walking Dead” returns to AMC on October 12. “The Walking Dead” is based on the comic book series created and written by Robert Kirkman and published by Skybound, Kirkman’s imprint at Image Comics.”
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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