‘The Walking Dead’ Airs Scott Wilson Tribute

AMC aired a special tribute Sunday night to late The Walking Dead star Scott Wilson, who played Hershel Greene on the series across three seasons.

The tribute aired immediately following The Walking Dead Season Nine premiere ahead of typically live aftershow Talking Dead.

Talking Dead did not feature a segment dedicated to Wilson because the episode was pre-recorded when tonight’s guests were assembled in Los Angeles last week for the episode’s premiere screening.

Wilson died Saturday at age 76 after a battle with leukemia.

Just an hour before news of his death became widespread on social media, showrunner Angela Kang announced at New York Comic Con Wilson and former The Walking Dead star Sonequa Martin-Green will reappear this season.

As confirmed by ComicBook.com, Wilson had already recorded his cameo appearance in an upcoming episode before his death. That episode is expected to be dedicated in his memory.

“Scott will always be remembered as a great actor and we all feel fortunate to have known him as an even better person. The character he embodied on The Walking Dead, Hershel, lived at the emotional core of the show,” network and series producers AMC said in a statement Saturday.

“Like Scott in our lives, Hershel was a character whose actions continue to inform our character’s choices to this day. Our hearts go out to his wife, his family, friends and to the millions of fans who loved him. Scott will be missed.”

Emily Kinney, who played Hershel’s daughter Beth, half-sister to Maggie (Lauren Cohan), took to Instagram Sunday to pay tribute to the late actor, who she called “the best TV dad a girl could ask for.”

Jane McNeill, who played Greene farm resident Patricia in Season Two, also paid respects to Wilson on social media, writing she “loved and admired” him. Lori Grimes actress Sarah Wayne Callies, who co-starred with Wilson in the series’ second and third seasons, remembered him as “one of the finest humans I have known, as artists or men.”

Since his passing, there has been an outpouring of love from The Walking Dead Family past and present, including a growing number of tributes on social media.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.