AMC’s new anthology isn’t a copy of the original Walking Dead. While TWD fans may be used to the tone and style of the original series, “We do want to introduce some new elements and new tones and new looks and new flavors,” showrunner Channing Powell said, to appeal to them and new viewers of their post-apocalyptic world.
Powell and Tales of the Walking Dead stars Samantha Morton, Terry Crews, and Danny Ramirez sat down with Emily Aslanian in the TV Insider and TV Guide Magazine studio, sponsored by Hollywood unBranded at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 to tease their stories you’ll see when it premieres on August 14 (and as Ramirez chimed in, “On AMC+, you get two episodes!”).
Each episode is its own story, and Ramirez, Crews, and Morton are in three different ones. Without spoiling too much, Ramirez’s is horror and suspense. His character, Eric, and Daniella Pineda’s Idalia “have been going through pure survival mode for years already, and they wind up in this location,” he teased. “It’s just a very beautiful, human story of two people.”
Crews plays Joe, a doomsday prepper, alongside Olivia Munn’s Evie (it’s a Newsroom reunion!). for Crews, what stands out is how important the genre is to him. “I always felt like comedy and horror are two sides of the same coin. I want to go back to 1968, when Night of the Living Dead hit the world,” he shared, explaining that when he watched it as a teenager, “It changed my life forever. The first time I saw a Black hero. It was unprecedented, it was controversial, and also the social commentary changed the game.”
As for Crews’ episode, it sounds like you might want to watch with the lights on. “It was so good, so scary, I still am having nightmares,” he admitted.
While the cast and showrunner are quick to note that you don’t have to have seen the 11 seasons of The Walking Dead to enjoy the new spinoff, Morton’s story will hold special meaning to those who watched her as Alpha. “I’m not going to say you’re not going to get to see Alpha but it’s about Dee and it’s about [her daughter] Lydia,” Morton said.
While The Walking Dead offered flashbacks to their time before, that was from Lydia’s perspective. “Now you have Alpha’s perspective a little bit about how it feels to be a single mother alone in the pandemic and trying to survive and the choices you have to make as a mother to protect your child. Some of those choices are quite tough,” Morton previewed.
Watch the video above for more from the stars about their episodes, the praise Morton has for her stunt double, and the promise of “humor” and “things that will shock you.”
Tales of the Walking Dead, Series Premiere, Sunday, August 14, 9/8c, AMC