‘The Walking Dead’ Producer Details “Incredibly Flawed” Characters

The Walking Dead, from its beginning, has been a show driven by characters and difficult choices thrust upon them by the horrors of the apocalypse. Executive producer of the original series and its sibling series Fear the Walking Dead Gale Anne Hurd recently opened up about the concept behind both zombie shows which produce monster ratings for AMC since 2010.

Hurd credits the success of the show and audience interest to the characters within it. “The fact that they really are shows about the people, and not the zombies, is what has sustained them,” Hurd told ScreenDaily. “It’s about how people deal with loss, and how they deal with finding love in the apocalypse.”

Hurd knows her way around characters, too. She has produced films such as 1984’s The Terminator, 1986’s Aliens, 1998’s Armageddon and, more recently, World War Z which has spawned a sequel. With all of her experience, Hurd calls back to the flawed yet relatable characters of The Walking Dead for its ability to hook viewers.

“Many of the characters are incredibly flawed,” Hurd said. “But, at the same time, the fact they believe that we can reinvent the world and make it better next time is something that I think a lot of us would like to see. The thought that people can change for the better and, at times, for the worse, given what they are up against, is really what people are interested in.”

She’s no stranger to comic book titles, either, with a pair of Marvel movies under her belt centered around the Punisher and the Hulk. The Walking Dead thrives when it follows its source material but also finds success in unique stories (which Fear the Walking Dead has adopted entirely).

“The fact that [the show] is based on a continuing comic-book series that has fans around the world, and is also maintaining its high-level of quality, is important,” Hurd said. “But you don’t want people to know exactly what’s going to happen, and when it’s going to happen. We have characters such as Daryl Dixon [played by Norman Reedus] who don’t exist at all in the comic book. Having new characters in the show is going to change the dynamic. We’re also able to jump back and forth in time, and to do entire flashback scenes that give you even more grounding in character.”

This is where the idea for Fear the Walking Dead came from.

“People kept saying, ‘We’d love to see what would happen if the show was set somewhere else. We’d love to see more characters that aren’t from the comic books’,” Hurd said. “The only way to really satisfy that was to start a new series. It was something Robert Kirkman wanted to do as well, so he co-created it.”

Between the two shows, the creatives are kept extremely busy year-round (which still can’t stop Hurd from producing another series on Amazon by the title of Lore).

“We have 16 episodes per show, so that’s 32 per year,” Hurd said. “Across the two shows we have 20-plus series regulars, and in the new season of Fear we also have considerable time jumps to keep track of. [Former The Walking Dead showrunner] Scott Gimple is now the chief content officer for The Walking Dead universe on television. He always knows where the show is going, and can also make sure that Fear doesn’t veer into similar territory.”

The Walking Dead will return for its ninth season in the fall. Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC, returning for the second half of its fourth season on August 12. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.