The Walking Dead Stars Hope to Make Andrew Lincoln Proud with Season 10

The Walking Dead stars wish to do right by former series lead Andrew Lincoln in Season 10, the first full season without Rick Grimes.

“It’s knowing that now that Andy has left the show, and he left this super important job on all of us to continue the work, knowing the story is the most important thing,” Cooper Andrews told IGN when asked to describe ushering in this new generation of The Walking Dead. “And this season is an awesome change from what we’ve done in the past, and I’m really hoping Andy’s gonna be proud of what we’ve done.”

Lincoln, who was sent off with Season 9 episode “What Comes After,” next returns to TWD Universe when he reprises his role across the franchise’s first movie trilogy.

The star first intended to revisit the television series and act as director on a Season 10 episode before scheduling conflicts required him to forfeit his TWD directorial debut.

Following the death of Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) and Rick’s being taken away by Jadis-slash-Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh), TWD has expanded its scope beyond the Grimes men.

“The Walking Dead is a story that started 10 years ago with one man trying to find his family. That family grew and gradually communities took shape. They fought and survived, thrived and gave birth to a new generation. It is a tale of humankind and there are more stories to tell,” the official Season 10 synopsis reads in part.

Even with a potential reunion between Daryl (Norman Reedus) and the believed-dead Rick on the horizon, Reedus admits it’s “weird” continuing on without his long-time co-star and best friend.

“We talked to him yesterday, [Jeffrey Dean Morgan] and I, and I said, ‘It’s weird that you’re not here, I don’t know who to put all my room service bills on.’ Because that’s literally thousands of dollars we’ve put on his room over course of a couple years. And he goes, ‘That’s the sole reason I left the show,’” Reedus told IMDb at San Diego Comic-Con.

“But yeah, it’s weird without Rick, I have to say. We came here and one of the people that works in the hotel put little Rick pictures all over our rooms, in the toilet, in the bed, in the shower. Our rooms are covered with Rick.”

The remaining ensemble will have to adjust yet again when Michonne star Danai Gurira ends her time with the show in Season 10, which promises an exit handled with the same level of respect and responsibility shown to Rick.

“We miss him and then knowing that it’s a Danai and Rick-less world, it’s hard, it’s another adjustment,” Morgan said.

“But year ten of this show, that’s rarified air, and I think [showrunner Angela Kang] and the writers have a really good grasp of what’s happening moving forward, and we’ll see what that world looks like. But I think what we did last year after Andy left, I was very proud of, and hopefully we’ll be able to do the same thing now with Danai leaving. But it’s a hole that you can never fill. That’s the truth of the matter, you can’t fill Andy or Danai leaving the show.”

The Walking Dead Season 10 premieres Sunday, October 6 on AMC.