The Walking Dead Showrunner On Season 10 Finale Timeline, Season 11 Update

The Walking Dead was among many titles in movies and television to impacted by the coronavirus. The series was unable to complete the editing work of its Season 10 finale in time for an originally scheduled air date on next Sunday, April 12. As a result, AMC has had no choice but to pull the episode, for now. It will air at a later date this year. As it turns out, Episode 10x16 was very close to being completed in time for it to air as the finale episode. The Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang opened up about the process in an interview with ComicBook.com.

"We were very close to finishing 16," Kang said. "We usually deliver the episodes for a big VFX heavy episode about 2 weeks before we air so we were about a week and a half out at the point which California shut down. So, what is continuing remotely is the effects that can be finished but even after all of that's done, there are shots that need to be laid in, there's a color process that needs machines to be finished, there's sound work we usually do on the Warner Brothers stage. That's very complex VFX equipment, that you can't just move into somebody's home over night."

It is impossible for Kang to offer an accurate time table for when Episode 10x16 will air on AMC because the crew getting back to work's timeline relies on the real world getting back to a state of being able to safely gather and commute. When the country reaches that point, The Walking Dead's Episode 10x16 will not need much time to complete, at all.

"We are very, very close to finishing so I think actually by the time the world is safe for people to start venturing out, probably all of the VFX will be done and then it's just a handful of processes that they can turn around very. very quickly," Kang said. "We're very hopeful that we can get it all done once everybody is back up and running."

There is also the factor of how long AMC will attempt to market the episode before airing it, making sure that it brings in as many viewers as possible after an unexpected hiatus before its preceding episode.

As for Season 11, production was originally slated to begin late this month. There is no word on whether or not this will be the case but the current state of pandemic makes this seem unlikely. Still, the team is hard at work on Season 11's story and hopeful they will be able to deliver new episodes in the fall of this year.

"We're continuing to work on the future season remotely because writing, I think, is the easiest process to do remotely," Kang said. "Even that is a little tricky. We're not able to work at the same exact pace as we would if we were in the office."

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The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC.