AMC to milk The Walking Dead until that teat is sore and dry

[the G-man]

AMC ANNOUNCES "WALKING DEAD" COMPANION SERIES: As "The Walking Dead" prepares to kick off its fourth season, AMC has announced plans to launch a companion series set in the same universe as the acclaimed drama, a show not beholden to the comic source material.

I suppose it could be good.

However:

1. TWD hasn't been "beholden to to the source material" since the beginning so that doesn't seem like much of a rationale.

2. The idea behind both the books and the show was not so much "zombie apocalypse" but how people react to the complete breakdown of civilization. Which makes sense given that there are only so many zombie tropes to sustain a series. I don't see, unless we're talking something completely off the wall like a sitcom set in TWD universe, how a second show does anything new with the tropes.

I suspect we're about to get, basically, a TWD rip-off that just happens to be by the creator.

 

[Greg Cox]

I don't know. Spin-offs aren't necessarily "rip-offs." I seem to recall STAR TREK begetting a spin-off or two . . . or five.

And then, of course, there was XENA and ANGEL and TORCHWOOD. Heck, sometimes the spin-offs turn out even better than the originals. (Battle on, Xena.)

 

[Venardhi]

It depends on what the group of people they follow are up to. If the premise is so similar to the original show that they end up just using the leftover story ideas I can imagine that crashing and burning pretty quick.

 

[Greg Cox]

An urban setting might be interesting, as opposed to the isolated rural and small-town areas we've mostly seen on the parent show.

 

[the G-man]

An urban setting might be interesting, as opposed to the isolated rural and small-town areas we've mostly seen on the parent show.

OTOH, they did the urban setting for season one (Atlanta) and that still doesn't explain why the existing series couldn't do more with that setting the future.

 

[trekkiebaggio]

It would be cool if they could do one set in a different country.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

If you get a great new set of characters, you could do a rehash of the rural nomadic TWD setting and still have an interesting show with it's own unique "charm," but I'd still like to see this universe explored from a new perspective.

A couple of the ideas that popped into my head where you could change the dynamic significantly from TWD:

- Show the zombie apocalypse from the perspective of the President's administration as it slowly gets whittled down from a position of strength to barely surviving day by day like everyone else. Actually gives a big picture of how things are going around the country and the world instead of just the micro view of the survivors, so it adds to TWD's universe. Maybe they wind up in some fortified military base surrounded by zombies (missions outside would be carried out by helicopter or plane so we get some variety) and face challenges from other nations, militia groups, criminals, etc. but on a much bigger scale then we're used to (might be budgetary issues for AMC though).

- Alternatively, you could show things from the perspective of the mayor of a big city like New York, LA, or Chicago if you wanted to keep the same basic dynamic as above but give them reason to remain in an urban setting looking after their constituents as long as possible.

- Have a large group of survivors in their personal pleasure craft hook on to a big barge headed down the Mississippi River and form a sort of mini society of their own there. It would give greater opportunity for rotation of characters with a larger cast, and when not doing bottle episodes the same adventures of visiting cities and towns could be had as they take excursions to gather supplies and check for other survivors. The eventual goal would be to sail out onto the Caribbean and try and find an island they could live on where the plague hasn't reached yet (hopefully).

- Perhaps secure joint financing with the BBC/BBC America (for a bigger budget) and do a show located in Britain with excursions to mainland Europe in search of supplies or survivors (either by boat or with a harrowing car drive through the Chunnel).

 

[JD]

I think there is enough potential in the universe to handle another series, I just hope that they make it about more than just another group of survivors wander around. I do like the idea you guys had up thread to set it in a static urban location, like NY, LA, or Chicago.

 

[Trekker4747]

I think it could be very interesting to see what's going on elsewhere in the world, in different environments and maybe with characters who're in an area with a better flow of information. I just wonder if such a series will start in the "present" or at least show us more of how this all started and how society collapsed, and apparently collapsed quickly since it all happened while Rick was in a coma.

 

[sidious618]

It has potential, I suppose, but I'd like a different, better team of writers on it.

 

[WillsBabe]

I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing. I reckon there could be quite a few decent stories that could be told in TWD universe in a variety of settings. I think it's a rich universe for telling a multitude of stories with varied scenarios.

 

[Galileo7]

It would be cool if they could do one set in a different country.

Agree.

 

[Captaindemotion]

I'm in two minds. I absolutely love TWD and am always happy for more. OTOH, I would rather have one brilliant show, like we currently do, than 2 okay or poor ones. So long as this doesn't detract from the original, I'm all for it.

 

[TheSeeker]

An anthology series could work too. A lot of story possibilities could be opened up that way.

 

[FreezeC77]

I'd love to see it be set in the UK... Some other ideas would be involving a large contingent of American survivors in a foreign country coping with it. Like say the large US military bases in Germany, South Korea, or Japan.

 

[Tulin]

Couldn't care less - stopped watching at the end of the first season when I realized it was just a post apocalyptic soap opera.

 

[bigdaddy]

I find it funny they want two shows when the network is too cheap to even give their massive hit enough money and that's why all the showrunners leave.

 

[Sindatur]

Couldn't care less - stopped watching at the end of the first season when I realized it was just a post apocalyptic soap opera.

What else could you have possibly expected? A pure Splatterfest would've been lucky to last the first Season's 6 episodes. TWD has gained viewers every half season, no way that would've happened if it was a pure Splatterfest, it would've instead gotten stale in no time

 

[Dream]

I find it funny they want two shows when the network is too cheap to even give their massive hit enough money and that's why all the showrunners leave.

Well, Breaking Bad is over this season, so hopefully AMC recognizes how important TWD is to their network and give it a bigger budget.

 

[Mooch]

OTOH, I would rather have one brilliant show, like we currently do, than 2 okay or poor ones. So long as this doesn't detract from the original, I'm all for it.

I would rank the current show as "okay to poor", so I don't have much optimism for spin-off.