When Andrew Lincoln left
The Walking Dead
in 2018 , it was announced that the adventures of Rick Grimes, his character, until then the protagonist of the series, would continue in three films.
That never happened, and those three feature films would end up becoming the six-episode series that premieres on AMC+ on Monday, February 26.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
follows the adventures of Rick and also those of Michonne, the survivor of the zombie apocalypse played by Danai Gurira.
Anyone who watched the original series knows that their love story was left unfinished and that she set off in search of him: now they will try to move forward with it while trying to survive—once again—in a hostile world in which the main threat is not the half dead, but the living.
The Ones Who Live
is the sixth (and, in principle, last) spin-off series of
The Walking Dead
(2010-2022) to premiere.
The zombie television universe that was born from the mind of Robert Kirkman in the form of comics only continues to grow.
First it was
Fear the Walking Dead,
then
World Beyond
.
They were followed by
Tales of the Walking Dead
and the three focused on protagonists from the original series:
Dead City
(with Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan),
Daryl Dixon
(with Norman Reedus) and
The Ones Who Live.
More information
“We have received threats from fans”: the person responsible for 'The Walking Dead' talks about the road to its end
Their characters have seen how, around them, the television industry has changed so much that it has even redefined their fictional universe.
Compared to the usual 16-episode seasons in the years in which
The Walking Dead
reigned in the audiences - it became the most watched series on all of American television even when it was broadcast on a cable channel - the derivative series present stories focused on few characters, with a smaller universe and six episodes per season.
Danai Gurira, as Michonne in 'The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live'.Gene Page/AMC
Scott M. Gimple (Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, 52 years old) is responsible for coordinating the entire
The Walking Dead
universe , as well as co-creator of
The Ones Who Live
.
He came to the original series in its second season and was its main manager during its most successful years.
He himself now analyzes, in a video call conversation with EL PAÍS, how the changes in the industry and the consumption of audiovisual content have marked the course of the franchise.
“We made 16 episodes a year and that meant a very different relationship with the audience, who for 16 weeks had an appointment on Sundays to watch the series.
It's like meeting someone every Sunday for 16 weeks, you're building a relationship.
With these new series it is different.
We have six episodes of different series, and the form determines the content.
It is a different way of telling stories, more contained, there is less option to take root.
The deviations that I loved to make, going with a character or focusing on a corner of that universe, are now more complicated to do or you have to approach it as a different series.
But it is also very interesting,” describes the screenwriter and producer.
One of the many challenges of the series that have emerged around
The Walking Dead
is having their own identity while making it clear that they belong to the same universe.
“I didn't want it to feel like they were all the same series, I wanted them to be very, very different,” Gimple says.
In the case of
The Ones Who Live
, its common thread is the “deep, intense, crazy and epic” love story of Rick and Michonne.
Gimple recognizes that
The Ones Who Live
is, possibly, the most continuous story with the original series in many aspects, although the situation in which its protagonists find themselves is very different.
Terry O'Quinn plays General Beale in 'The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live'.Gene Page/AMC
Another challenge will be to get the public interested in characters they have not seen since 2018 in the case of Rick and since 2020 in the case of Michonne, in addition to continuing to capture the attention of an audience that has been able to follow the fate of the survivors. of the zombie apocalypse on television for almost three decades.
Has it been an extra difficulty for the scriptwriters?
“Actually, I think it's the opposite.
Where has Rick been all this time?
What has he done?
How do we portray all of that and how do we do it without showing every single thing he's been through?
He is a different person now and, in some ways, it has been like writing a totally new character because he is not the man he was then,” Gimple reflects.
Actors Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira are co-creators of
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
, as well as executive producers.
According to Gimple, the involvement of the performers has been total and absolute in all phases of production, from the months of meetings preparing the structure, the twists and the plot map, controlling the budgets, hiring the team, searching for locations... " It was like playing in a band, we covered each other.
They helped with post-production, with editing, with marketing… There were times when we had to split up to do different things,” says Gimple.
“They have been with these characters for so long that I understand why they wanted to grab the bull by the horns and take it where they wanted.”
Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira and Scott M. Gimple, at the presentation of the series 'The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live' on February 7 in Los Angeles.
Frazer Harrison (Getty Images)
The future of zombies is assured in the short term.
Dead City
and
Daryl Dixon
have already been renewed for their second seasons, and it is not ruled out that
The Ones Who Live
could also have a continuation.
In Scott M. Gimple's mind there is even a crossover between the protagonists of the three so that their characters can meet again.
“It's my hope and my dream and what I'm working towards.
But as you've seen with the changes in this series, who knows what will happen.
But yeah, that's what I'm trying to do in one way or another."
The question is obligatory: how much longer can zombies last on television?
The head of the franchise responds: “Robert Kirkman sold
The Walking Dead
as a zombie movie that never ends.
“I am doing everything I can to accomplish that.”
You can follow EL PAÍS Television on
X
or sign up here to receive
our weekly newsletter
.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
Keep reading
I am already a subscriber
_