Fans know that "Fear The Walking Dead" will follow an L.A. based family through the onset of the zombie virus outbreak. That will be relatively new ground for fans, as "The Walking Dead" jumped right into the end of the world after Rick Grimes woke up from his coma.
As a companion series, "Fear The Walking Dead" will be inextricably linked to its predecessor. But beyond a comparative standpoint, the new series will also connect to "The Walking Dead" through its events and happenings.
"Everything that happens in Fear The Walking Dead is the same universe as The Walking Dead," comic creator and executive producer on both series Robert Kirkman said. "So any rule that we find out and anything they see in the early days is definitely something that was happening in the past of the other show. These two shows are very intertwined in the same world, even if their characters aren't necessarily going to interact because of geographical distances. So yeah, anything that you learn from Fear The Walking Dead will apply to the mythology of The Walking Dead and vice versa. So you are going to get to see that the characters learn that they're all infected in a much different way. But all the rules do apply and are the same. That will be some of the fun if you're watching both shows."
In "The Walking Dead," Rick Grimes learns about the infection from CDC doctor Edwin Jenner in the first season. What could this "much different way" our new protagonists learn about it be?
Although "Fear" won't reveal the origin of the zombie virus, it will be interesting for fans to witness the disintegration of society. While "The Walking Dead" is one of the most entertaining shows on television, it doesn't carry the same amount of dramatic weight as a show like "The Americans" or "Game of Thrones." But taking a closer examination of humanity in extreme conditions during the initial collapse of civilization offers "Fear" the opportunity to really hone in on the characters and themes and establish some of the emotional depth that "The Walking Dead" is missing at times.
"Fear The Walking Dead" will debut on AMC this summer.
