The Walking Dead - Season 5 and onwards

[ctg]

Although I wish this guy had been kept as a producer rather than elevated.

We have to make mistakes and learn from them. It's the only way forward. I wish they would have done All-Out War in one season.

 

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While some of the communities will experience more growth, each one still has a lot of work to do... Those civilization blocks [Georgie] gave to Maggie will definitely play into the rebuilding of the Hilltop and beyond... We will see a lot more rebuilding than the typical altercations between communities. Our heroes will also be on the road a lot more than recent seasons.

The Walking Dead Fan Mailbag: Week of June 28th

Good. This is what we have wanted to see for years. Them getting on but the dead still being a threat.

 

[ctg]

Yes, but bye, bye Ricktator. It was nice knowing you. You were the best ... villain! I love old man Rick and I love how cool this trailer looks.

 

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The Walking Dead

star Andrew Lincoln thought long and hard before deciding to leave his Rick Grimes role on the AMC series but being away from family for so long ultimately became the top priority.

"Well, nine years I was thinking about it because that's where we live," Lincoln said during a press conference at San Diego Comic Con. "I suppose it was a lot to do with a conversation Scott [Gimple] and I had a few years ago, maybe in season four about the shape and finding some way to complete something that was never going to be completed."

Lincoln previously expressed a feeling of completion when describing the Season Eight finale, which saw his character resolve most of the show's loose ends in the aftermath of Carl's death. However, he knew the show must go on from there.

"And then not, obviously, disturbing the mothership," Lincoln said. "There was a sort of sense that the story has been a man waking up and you experience this world through this one man's eyes and it opens up into the extended family. Now, what's exciting, I think for me, is the fact that the narrative is being freed up. And it's already been freed up from the beginning of this season. You'll see the trailer. It's a different tone. It feels like the show that I always felt we would head toward when we wrapped the pilot. And so yeah, even sure it was something that I started to think about as my children got older and less portable."

During The Walking Dead's panel in Hall H at San Diego Comic Con, Lincoln first made the news of his departure official.

"There seems to be an elephant in the room, regarding whether or not this is my last year...This will be my last season playing the part of Rick Grimes," Lincoln confirmed. "I love this show, it means everything to me. I love the people that make this show. I am particularly fond of the people that watch this show. This has been the most extraordinary, amazing and beautiful experience of my career, made possibly largely by you guys. In this room and rooms across the world. And I just want to thank you....We're deeply proud of the work that we've done this season. I think that [new showrunner] Angela [Kang] is astonishing, leading with such class. What I wanted to say is my relationship with Mr. Grimes is far from over, and some part of me will always be machete-wielding sheriff's deputy from London, England. This will continue to be an ensemble show."

Andrew Lincoln Reveals Why He Is Leaving 'The Walking Dead'

 

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Andrew and Jeffrey Morgan on their characters and what's on the horizon after that TWO YEAR TIMEJUMP!

"There's been a flip flop, obviously," Morgan said. "Rick Grimes is maybe enjoying his Negan time more than ever. It's been a lot of fun. When we came back to work this year, we ended last year with the throat slash. To get back in this position and to see Andy really digging in and having a good time with the Rick Grimes of it all, and me being on the other side of these bars, it's fun. I had a great time just watching him do his thing."

Whereas Negan arrived on the show as a maniacal murderer, he will be contained to the confines of the prison built by Morgan Jones in an earlier season to think about what he has done. "This is an amazing new Negan," Lincoln said. "The scene that we had in the second episode, was amazing I think some of the writing in it, was the best writing you've had, I think. It was beautiful. Just the fact that we've got this history and two-year time jump, as well, I think just informs it in a much more nuanced way. And Jeffrey is just doing some beautiful acting, as well."

The updated version of Negan is one which Morgan is having a blast playing. "It's been a really great challenge and really great fun as an actor," Morgan said. "I felt like maybe I was stuck in a rut, a little bit. I needed Negan to move on and we needed to see a different side of him. I think, be careful what you wish for, because now there is a different side of Negan that is front and center. Negan is having a hard time with what he is seeing in himself and these guys are really having a good time."

In fact, Morgan is not the only actor having a good time on set and pouring everything out in front of the camera this year. "It's some of the best work I think anybody on the show has done," Morgan said. "Especially with Andy leaving, everyone is just stepping it up. That goes from the writing on down to the actors to the crew. There's a new vitality to the show, it feels like, and a lot of it has to do with Andy and us just keeping him alive on set."

Still, it's not looking like a friendship will be forming between the two archenemies any time soon. "Still, he's just as vindictive as he was with the baseball bat," Lincoln said. Negan doesn't need Lucille to attack Rick Grimes. "He's able to get inside Rick like no one else and worm his way with poison into his ear with truths that no one else wants to say. The chess game of these scenes was so much fun to play."

Under the link whole interview in video Andrew Lincoln and Jeffrey Dean Morgan on New 'The Walking Dead' Negan-Rick Dynamic

 

[ctg]

I have deliberately avoided most of the TWD content, because I didn't want spoil anyone by upcoming content. Here's the minisynopsis for this season:

Rick upheld the values his late son, Carl, championed in order to build for the future, but created conflict within his group. Now, we see our survivors a year and a half after the end of the war, rebuilding civilisation under Rick’s steadfast leadership. It is a time of relative peace among the communities as they work together, looking to the past to forge the future, but the world they knew is rapidly changing as man-made structures continue to degrade, and nature takes over, changing the landscape and creating new challenges for our survivors.

 

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The Walking Dead

heads into season 9 as a pop culture juggernaut that lost some steam and eroded hard-earned goodwill amongst segments of its audience. Indeed, while the show’s depicted 'All Out War' may finally be over, the patience-testing storyline yielded a pyrrhic victory for both our characters and the show’s ratings, which have declined steadily.

We're in for an 18-month time jump when we rejoin our characters for season 9, and as fans who are familiar with the source material of Robert Kirkman’s comic book series are aware, major changes lie ahead and a horrendous housecleaning of characters could be imminent, attributed to the arrival of the show’s new big bad, Alpha (Samantha Morton), and her extremely territorial, walker-skin-wearing group, the Whisperers.

FOX UK has now set a UK air date for season 9. It'll get underway on Monday October 8th at 9pm, so you can put that in your diaries!

The Walking Dead season 9: UK air date announced

 

[nixie]

Thanks for keeping us updated ctg.

Looks like they are leaving Rick and Maggie's exit open, so one or both may return in the future. Not sure how I feel about that.

@ctg I don't think I've ever said thank you for the time and energy you put into keeping us updated with the walker franchise . So I would like to say thank you, I always look forward to your posts.

 

[ctg]

Thank you. It's nice to hear I have fans.

 

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Jesus actor Tom Payne admitted he “wasn’t very happy” about that clandestine meeting with Hilltop leader Maggie (Lauren Cohan) at the end of The Walking Dead Season Eight.

The scene, set in a shadowy office, saw a smirking Jesus throw in with Maggie, who said they were going to show Alexandria leader Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) “he was wrong to do what he did” — capturing and jailing Savior leader Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) instead of killing him.

“I wasn’t very happy about it, if I’m honest,” Payne said with a laugh at Salt Lake City’s FanX convention this weekend.

“It kind of came out of the blue at the end of the season, as it did for everyone, and for me as well. I had a bit of a struggle with it, honestly. But I trust in the writers and what they’re trying to do.”

While the scene was a clear set up to play out in Season Nine, Payne said the actors could only go with it as they never truly know what direction the story will take.

“And the thing about that is, we’re never really told in advance where the story is headed and or what’s gonna happen and how that will be resolved, et cetera et cetera, so I had to just say the words and hope that it was all going to work out well in the end,” Payne said.

In his many interactions with fans at conventions, Payne explained he often sees both sides of the argument: those supporting Maggie gunning for her late husband’s murderer and those in support of Rick’s decision to spare Negan, whom he otherwise would have executed were it not for a change of heart inspired by late son Carl (Chandler Riggs).

“Funnily enough, someone came up to me today — because often I get people who are like, ‘Well, you’re not going to do anything against Rick, are you?’ — but today, I had someone come up and go, ‘Yeah you are! Yeah, you’re gonna get Rick and Negan, because he did the wrong thing!’” Payne said.

Payne found the unexpected development interesting because “the whole season he had been like, ‘No, we can’t do this, no we can’t,’” he said of Jesus’ position as the self-appointed moral compass, arguing against killing Savior POWs.

He argued the relatively pacifistic Jesus wasn’t necessarily supporting Maggie’s plan to act against Rick and win her vengeance against a now-jailed Negan, but was instead hearing Maggie out as her right hand man.

“I think, in that moment, it’s more about placating Maggie and making sure that he still has her ear in that moment, and not wanting to be completely anti whatever position she’s in. Because he doesn’t want to isolate himself, because he understands he still has some power of persuasion over her,” Payne explained.

“I think in that moment he’s not like, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna absolutely go and kill Negan,’ he’s more, ‘Yeah we will, because I just want to make sure I’m still there with you, and maybe we can have a conversation about this later on.’”

Scott Gimple, executive producer and former showrunner on The Walking Dead, previously clarified Maggie and Daryl (Norman Reedus) are out to get Negan, not Rick, but warned of “potential conflict” and in-fighting over the ousted Savior leader.

“What Maggie has said to Daryl and Jesus was, 'The Hilltop is going to flourish… I’m going to lead this place and make it work. But after that, I have this little thing on my to-do list, and it has to do with Negan,’” Gimple told TV Line.

“That’s the main thing. It isn’t like, ‘I wanna get Rick!’ or something like that, it’s about Negan,” Gimple said. “Make no mistake, no one is getting in front of Maggie to stop her. That’s where there is danger and potential conflict.”

‘The Walking Dead’ Star Tom Payne 'Wasn’t Very Happy' About Rick Grimes Twist

 

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The Walking Dead

has officially defined its timeline through eight seasons, possibly making things a bit more confusing.

In a tweet from the zombie show's official account through AMC, the amount of time which had passed between Rick falling into a coma and emerging from a shipping container at Anne's scrapyard has been given a timeline. From Day One of the zombie apocalypse to Rick's capture by the woman who went by Jadis, 632 days had passed.

This means less than two years have passed since the world fell but is raising valid questions from fans regarding the age of Carl and other characters within the series. Check out the tweet below.

This is the first time a specific amount of time has been stamped onto the AMC show's narrative. Looking back at the series' history, a number of time jumps lead people to believe more time had passed than two years.

However, the biggest question mark comes from Carl's age. Starting the show at ten-years-old, Carl actor Chandler Riggs turned 18 before his departure in Season Eight. Needless to say, he aged quite a bit during his time in the apocalypse, which included getting shot in the stomach and eye, only to get bitten and succumb to the virus.

In fact, Carl's age was the first thing a fan pointed out in response to the tweet, as seen above. Of course, sometimes fans who accept a zombie series might be better off accepting the fact that the actor aged more quickly than Carl was supposed to.

It's also worth noting the amount of time which has passed on the AMC show does not necessarily apply to Robert Kirkman's comic book series. There have been several deviations from the source material so the timeline would be no surprise if it didn't line up with the comics.

Heading into Season Nine, a considerable amount of time will pass by comparison to the Season Eight finale. With the Season Eight finale having concluded about a week after the photo of Rick included in the timeline defining tweet, Season Nine will pick up about 18 months later.

'The Walking Dead' Officially Defines How Much Time Has Passed

 

[Judderman]

Matches up with Walking Dead wikia timeline page.

 

[ctg]

You might be gearing up to bid farewell to Andrew Lincoln in front of the camera on The Walking Dead. But Rick Grimes exiting the show doesn’t mean that Andrew Lincoln himself is done with those rascally zombies.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Lincoln confirmed that he is planning to return to The Walking Dead’s current filming for season nine in Senoia, Georgia. However, he won’t be donning the greying facial hair of everyone’s favorite post-apocalyptic former sheriff—he’ll be shadowing directors so he can head behind the camera for the show’s 10th season

https://io9.gizmodo.com/andrew-lincoln-is-returning-to-the-walking-dead-as-a-1829304074

I have been intentionally quiet on the TWD as there are only a few copies I own in the comic series and I know very little where they're heading off. So it will exciting for me to see stuff for the first time. I'm also glad that Mr Lincoln will return to series as a director. He deserves it.

 

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Former The Walking Dead actor Scott Wilson has died, according to American TV network AMC.

The veteran actor played the character of Hershel Greene on the show from 2011 to 2014.

In a statement, AMC said that the character he played "lived at the emotional core of the show".

Colleagues and fans paid tribute to Wilson, who starred in around 30 episodes of the The Walking Dead in seasons two, three and four.

The Walking Dead actor dies aged 76

 

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Co-creator of AMC's The Walking Dead Frank Darabont will suit his lawsuit against the network officially go to trial.

"Walking Dead creator Frank Darabont and CAA will head to trial against AMC in a massive lawsuit over the mega-hit zombie series after a New York judge largely denied summary judgment motions on Monday," THR reports. "The decision represents somewhat of a favorable development for AMC, which is alleged to have cheated profit participants through self-dealing agreements and underhanded accounting. The judge in the case denied Darabont's bid to declare that when AMC imputes license fees, it must be fair-market value. The judge sees a fact question with respect to contractual interpretation of the key issue in the case and so the ultimate determination will eventually be tried before a jury."

Judge Eileen Bransten wrote, "The court concludes that the agreement is susceptible to the interpretation urged by both parties in regard to whether the Affiliate Transaction Provision applies to the imputed license fee and is therefore ambiguous," according to the report. As a result, the lawsuit is headed to trial.

Darabont and his reps have maintained a five-year lawsuit against AMC regarding profits for the series. They filed suit in 2013 claiming they were denied their rightful share of profits generated by The Walking Dead. Darabont and his group claim AMC, by way of creative accounting, made the hit series seem less valuable than it actually is as a means of cutting him out of profits he’s contractually owed.

AMC had previously replaced their lawyers in the midst of the lawsuit seeming to sway in a less desirable direction. Their new team at Gibson Dunn has argued that the contract amounts to a factual question that this all should go to trial. As a result, Bransten's decision to send the lawsuit there, marks a win for the network.

"Darabont asserted that since the second season of Walking Dead was produced within budget and on schedule, AMC was required to negotiate with Darabont to be showrunner on the third season of the series," the report reads. "AMC responded that his negotiation rights didn't survive his termination and would run counter to a 'pay or play' provision of his contract."

For now, Bransten remains quiet on a claim dealing with Talking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead.

Both sides of the dispute have commented on the trial heading to court.

Both sides provided comment about the development.

"We are pleased that the Court denied AMC’s motion for summary judgment as to every key claim in Plaintiffs’ case," said Dale Kinsella, attorney for Darabont's team. "We look forward to proceeding to trial on Plaintiffs’ claims, which now exceed a quarter billion dollars.”

"We are very pleased with today’s decision," says AMC attorney Orin Snyder. "It is a victory. The judge denied plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment outright on the fundamental issue in the case. The judge also awarded summary judgment to AMC on four of plaintiffs’ claims, throwing them out completely. We now look forward to trial where we are confident we will prevail. This lawsuit is nothing but a money grab by CAA and the greedy Hollywood lawyers who feed off talent and are the driving force behind this suit. These plaintiffs have been paid millions and millions of dollars on The Walking Dead, which AMC turned into a hit after taking a risk on a show that no other network wanted. Now the same sophisticated Hollywood lawyers and agents who negotiated plaintiffs’ deal want to re-write the contract many years later to extract even more money. A jury will see right through this scheme. We appreciate the judge’s careful and thorough review of the arguments and look forward to victory at trial.”

Frank Darabont's 'The Walking Dead' Lawsuit Going to Trial

 

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'The Walking Dead' is the most-pirated TV show released in 2018. The popular AMC series decrowned Game of Thrones which didn't air any new episodes this year. The CW's 'The Flash' is listed in second place and The Big Bang Theory completes the top three.

At the end of every year we take a look at the most-downloaded TV-episodes among torrenting pirates.

The list was headed by Game of Thrones for six years in a row, but this reign has now come to an end.

With no new GoT episodes in 2018, the title was up for grabs and The Walking Dead has seized this opportunity.

This doesn’t come as a complete surprise, as the AMC series was already the runner-up since 2014.

‘The Walking Dead’ Most Torrented TV-Show of 2018 - TorrentFreak

 

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When The Walking Dead resumes its refreshed ninth season with new episodes in February, the series will offer up new threats as well as plentiful surprises for both comic book readers and show-only viewers.

“As with every season of the show, there’s a certain amount of stuff from the comic that we follow relatively faithfully, but really more in terms of orange cones in the stories, is kind of how we think about it,” showrunner Angela Kang told Deadline.

“Like, oh here are these moments that we want to try to adapt, but a lot of times the routes that we take go into different directions.”

Such deviations include the Season Eight death of Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) and the Season Nine send off for his father, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), who will be spun off into his own trilogy of television movies away from the mothership series, as well as the mid-season departure of Hilltop leader Maggie (Lauren Cohan).

“The array of characters and the timeline that we’re in are completely different, and so there are obviously going to be some deviations,” Kang added.

“So, there are some familiar markers to people who know the comics very well, but I’ll say that there are some other surprises coming up along the way as well.”

A fan of the Whisperers plot thread from creator Robert Kirkman’s comic books, Kang was mindful of spoilers but hinted the more iconic beats of the story could play out in the back half of the season.

“I’ll say that you know this is obviously an iconic story line from the comic and there’s certainly memorable parts of the story that we want to tell, but it will be specific to the show,” Kang said.

Emerging as the newest headlining villain is Whisperer leader Alpha (Samantha Morton), who reaches the series accompanied by daughter Lydia (Cassady McClincy) and merciless right-hand man Beta (Ryan Hurst).

“I think on screen it is a pretty striking introduction, and then we will get into some meaty stuff with her pretty early in the back half of the season,” Kang teased of the villainess, glimpsed in the first trailer for the second half of Season Nine.

“I’ll say that off-screen Samantha could not be a lovelier person to work with. We have really truly enjoyed having Samantha, and I can’t wait for people to see the work she’s doing. I’ve been working on some of the episodes in post she’s in, and I think she’s just a tremendous actress. There’s some really cool stuff with her coming up.”

Kirkman, who serves as executive producer on the series, previously said changes from page-to-screen happen “from time to time on the show” and such deviations just make the screenwriter “more excited.”

“I think that any time that path is not set, any time you can’t look at a comic book series and go, ‘oh, I know exactly what’s going to happen,’ it makes things a little bit more exciting,” Kirkman said during a March appearance on Talking Dead.

‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9B Will Bring Deviations and Surprises

 

[Al Jackson]

I have only watched one episode of The Walking Dead , I thought it was ok, but have watched zero more since, did not pull me in.

 

[ctg]

I have only watched one episode of The Walking Dead , I thought it was ok, but have watched zero more since, did not pull me in.

Why are you reading this thread then?