With "Mad Men" ending earlier this year in a swirl of Coca-Cola instead of booze, and "Breaking Bad" fans finally getting a grip on their withdrawal symptoms, AMC has trotted out several new series in an attempt to recapture our attention. "Better Call Saul" is not a relapse into the latter, yet it still provides the same rush as Heisenberg's product. "Humans" lacks the subtle touch of the former but still applies to the convention that it is what's on the inside of a character that counts. Both offer varying degrees of quality entertainment and enjoyment, but neither is bona fide ratings hit.
Enter "Fear The Walking Dead," which will premiere this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET.
If you couldn't guess, "Fear The Walking Dead" is AMC's new companion series to its cash cow and mega hit "The Walking Dead." But just because the two shows share a common antagonist - hopefully Walkers instead of bad child actors. Sorry, Carl - doesn't mean viewers are in for the same exact brain devouring entertainment.
"It tells its own story," executive producer Robert Kirkman said. "You don't need to have watched 'The Walking Dead' to understand 'Fear The Walking Dead.'"
But, just in case, here's everything you need to know about the new series.
Setting
With "The Walking Dead," AMC jumped right into the deep end of the zombie apocalypse. Rick awoke from his coma to find the undead already living it up in full force across Atlanta. While this allowed for instant gratification - zombie kills were off the charts right from the get go - it didn't provide a lot of background information or time to get to know our characters.
"Fear The Walking Dead" will try and reverse that trend by dipping a timid toe into Los Angeles' zombie waters rather than cannon balling. The show will begin before the outbreak and allow viewers to watch the excruciatingly slow collapse of society. This approach is rich with opportunities for compelling human drama in addition to entertaining action. It is also prime for the pitfall of a Walker-like pace, slow and meandering. We'll discover which one on Sunday.
"FTWD" will also provide viewers with a glimpse into who these people were before the end of the world. This offers fans a chance to explore the characters in a way "The Walking Dead" never did.
But, wait, who are these characters?
Protagonists
"The Walking Dead" focuses on a group of strangers forced to survive together. "Fear The Walking Dead" will center on a single (non-traditional) family and their struggle at the onset of the zombie apocalypse.
Kim Dickens ("Gone Girl") plays Madison Clark, a guidance counselor with two kids, straight-A Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and 19-year-old heroin addict Nick (Frank Dillane). Maddie, in customary office romance fashion, is dating Cliff Curtis' ("Missing") Travis Manawa, an English teacher at the same high school. Travis is finding it difficult to maintain a relationship with his own teenage son Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie) and a cease fire with his ex-wife, Liza (Elizabeth Rodriguez).
Together, they will carefully traverse the looming threat of the undead.
Answers
One big question Dead-Heads have been debating, other than the status of Rick's beard, is how the zombie virus initially came about. Was it man made, a government experiment gone terribly, terribly wrong? Is it natural, mother Earth's course correction for overpopulation and global warming?
As a sort-of prequel, fans were hoping "FTWD" would answer this question. Alas, you don't always get what you want.
Kirkman said earlier this year that the new series is not interested in "fixing" or "learning the cause" of the outbreak. Existing fans hoping for some insight on Patient Zero and new fans just hoping for an explanation will have to get by without any.
Will "Fear The Walking Dead" be able to stand (or run, as people should do when zombies are around) on its own two slightly decomposing feet? It's already been picked up for a second season so AMC is counting on it. Whether or not it can deliver remains to be seen. Tune in this Sunday to find out.
