Seems you can’t keep a good undead TV show down. AMC and production company Skybound just announced in their virtual panel at San Diego Comic-Con that Fear the Walking Dead, shot right here in Austin, will be returning to TV on Oct. 11 at 9pm with new episodes – and they shared a brand new trailer to prove it.
This is the latest any season has started, as the show has normally begun broadcast by early June, with season finales in late September or early October, and the delay comes – as is a common story across TV – because of the coronavirus lockdown that has hit the industry.
Like every other TV show, FTWD suspended production in March, when they were already deep into production on season 6. The show originally began production of Season 1 in 2015 in Los Angeles, then headed to Baja, Mexico for a couple of years, before moving to its current home in Austin, starting in 2018 with season 4, and it’s been a huge employer of local talent and technicians.
During the Comic-Con virtual panel, Andrew Chambliss confirmed that he and fellow showrunner Ian Goldberg have written all of the season, and had almost finished shooting the entire first half when they had to stop. However, they are working on a way to get back into production, as soon and as safely as possible. Meanwhile series executive producer and Walking Dead universe chief content officer Scott Gimple promised that the upcoming episodes will be the darkest to date, with early word that this may also be the most ambitious run of the series.
Of course, the biggest question is what the season will bring for Morgan Jones, played by Lennie James, who was last seen bleeding to death after being shot by Virginia (Colby Minifie) and left to the walkers. The trailer opens with his seeming dying words from the Season 5 finale, but since Virginia seems to be dispatching some kind of headhunter to find him, being dead may not have sat with him too well. However, during the panel James announced that he is not just back in front of the camera (although exactly what that means in a show that has flashbacks, jumps forward, and literal zombies). He also directs an episode this season – as does costar Colman Domingo (who plays the increasingly merciless Victor Strand), who returns for his third turn in the director’s seat on the show.
Now here’s that teaser:
This article appears in July 24 • 2020.
