‘Walking Dead’ spinoff moves west
TV PREVIEW
“Fear the Walking Dead,” 9 p.m. Sundays, AMC
AMC's Georgia-produced "The Walking Dead" is such a monster hit, executives couldn't help themselves but create a spinoff, called "Fear the Walking Dead," debuting at 9 p.m. Sunday.
The title alone tells you this is the same world that Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon live in. The biggest differences: timing and geography.
“Fear” is set 2,175 miles west of Atlanta in Los Angeles. It’s the dawn of the zombie apocalypse in 2010, which “The Walking Dead” skipped over while Rick was in a coma. By the time Rick awakened in the opening minutes of the original show, society was already in shambles.
In this case, the story focuses on a mixed family with routine jobs. Widowed guidance counselor Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) is raising two teens: driven, college-bound Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and heroin-addicted Nick (Frank Dillane). Madison is dating a teacher who’s divorced, Travis (Cliff Curtis), who is struggling with his own family issues.
In the opening moments of the first episode, the drugged-out Nick sees a zombified friend chomping on some flesh at a nasty drug house and flees, not sure if he was hallucinating or seeing something legitimately crazy. (It’s the latter, of course.)
By episode two, society as we know it begins to unravel as freshly minted zombies multiply, looters reign and cops panic.
“There are plenty of action heroes and dark antiheroes,” said Curtis, a New Zealand native with credits such as “Training Day,” “Collateral Damage” and “Whale Rider.” “They’re fantastic and great entertainment. But I also find ordinary people fascinating. My character brings optimism, an idealism and a need to fix things.”
Unfortunately, all three of those characteristics will be sorely tested in this new world. “It’s going to be rough,” he acknowledged, “very rough.”
TV critics who have seen the first two episodes of "Fear the Walking Dead" have been mixed to positive. Metacritic, which collates critical reviews, gave "Fear" a reasonably positive average of 66 out of 100.
"There's just the uneasy sense that something is wrong, which for TV drama purposes means something is right," writes David Hinckley of The New York Daily News, giving it 4 out of 5 stars.
"The real trick in 'Fear' will be keeping the full weight and extent of the zombie insurrection at bay for some time and focusing on the early days of the outbreak in a way that makes it different but also equally original and entertaining," noted Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter.
As for risk, spinoffs are a safer bet than brand-new scripted dramas. AMC’s recent original efforts such as “Turn” and “Halt and Catch Fire” have drawn tiny fractions of “The Walking Dead” audiences.
“I expect (‘Fear’) will do very strong numbers,” said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research at Horizon Media Inc., a New York-based media services company. “’The Walking Dead’ has been the top scripted show among young viewers for three years. Using the same name helps branding.”
While “The Walking Dead” now draws 15 million live viewers per week and millions more on demand and via DVR, “Fear” could easily devour 6 to 8 million itself.
AMC already has one solid spinoff precedent: “Better Call Saul,” a prequel to its well-regarded “Breaking Bad,” was a hit earlier this year.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
