The Walking Dead: Second Half of Season Four Gives A Sense of the World, Says Producer

was at a TV Academy panel last night where Greg Nicotero and members of AMC's The Walking Dead cast came together with journalists to discuss the second half of Season Four, which launches on Sunday night. "This is the first time since Season 1 where they don't have any protection," The Walking Dead executive producer and director Greg Nicotero said of the group of survivors at the heart of the post-apocalyptic drama. "You get a sweeping sense of the world again, and our characters are thrust back in it." With the large group of survivors now split a number of ways, even money says that the first few episodes back will feature a few cast members at a time until a new status quo is reached. The mid-season finale last year ended with some cast members dead, some presumed dead and the prison where Rick and company have been holed up for two years compromised beyond repair. The survivors were forced to evacuate as quickly, and in any way, that they could, with Rick and Carl Grimes setting off on their own after discovering that Rick's infant daughter Judith had apparently been killed. The episode was the resolution to the more-than-a-year-in-the-making conflict between Rick and The Governor, who surprised everyone by surviving the Season three finale and turned out to be the midseason Big Bad, emulating much more closely than they have in the past the way events played out in the comic book source material. Producers have promised that will continue for the rest of the year, including the introduction of a number of new characters familiar to readers of the comics. Sunday's episode, "After," heavily features Rick Grimes, his son Carl and Michonne. It will air on AMC at 9 p.m., followed by an episode of their discussion after-show, Talking Dead.