Coronavirus: The Walking Dead Stars Say “Stay in the House, Carl”

The Walking Dead stars are saying “stay in the house, Carl,” amid advisories to practice social distancing to slow the spread of coronavirus. A reference to the earliest days of the zombie drama, where Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies) often urged young son Carl (Chandler Riggs) to stay inside and away from danger, the phrase made a comeback on social media when Callies, Riggs and former Walking Dead star Tom Payne, who played Jesus, referenced the phrase to encourage followers to self-quarantine or limit their exposure to other people. According to guidelines published by the CDC, preferred social distancing means “remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible.”

“I’ve got a message for everyone choosing not to practice social distancing right now. Stay in the house, Carl,” Callies said in a video published to Twitter. “We know what happens when you don’t.”

Responding to his on-screen mom’s tweet, Riggs tweeted, “jesus christ this has been going on for eight years i can’t take it anymore.” Riggs, who exited the show midway through Season 8 in 2018, said during a recent convention appearance he’s still called Carl’s nickname by Walking Dead fans, referring to the way Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes would sometimes pronounce “Carl.”

Last week, physical pre-production on The Walking Dead Season 11 was pushed back by weeks and filming on the sixth season of Fear the Walking Dead was halted for three weeks due to coronavirus concerns. AMC also cancelled an episode of live aftershow Talking Dead that would have aired following The Walking Dead Season 10 episode “Walk With Us.”

Showrunner Angela Kang subsequently told The Hollywood Reporter the Walking Dead team is already “very well set up to work remotely,” allowing the writers’ room to continue work on Season 11.

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New episodes of The Walking Dead Season 10 premiere Sundays on AMC. For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.