The Walking Dead Director on Daryl and Connie Romance: “There’s Definitely Something There”

The Walking Dead Season 10 premiere director and executive producer Greg Nicotero says there’s “definitely something there” between Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Connie (Lauren Ridloff), fan-favorite romantic prospects who shared a pleasant moment together when it was learned Daryl is practicing sign language to better interact with the deaf Connie.

“Well, I think that there’s definitely something there. Daryl sort of bonded with her at the end of last season. But it’s always tricky in these situations,” Nicotero told EW when asked if a ‘Donnie’ romance is brewing. “And I think that Daryl definitely sees something in her that he likes based on everything that they went through last season.”

The Walking Dead veteran sees their dynamic as one similar to the bond Daryl shared with Beth (Emily Kinney), a potential romantic relationship that never blossomed: ‘Beryl’ hopes were squashed when Beth met a tragic end in Season 5.

“It’s sort of sweet. Any opportunity you get to see Daryl interacting with people, he always has that sort of shy, kind of bashful nature,” Nicotero said. “It’s the same like when he was with Beth in earlier seasons. It’s kind of sweet and it’s nice to see that. I think that’s why people love the scenes between Norman and Melissa [McBride, who plays Carol] so much, because their chemistry is just so good.”

Despite fan cries for ‘Caryl’ — a romantic development of the bond between Daryl and best friend Carol — Daryl has never had a love interest. Showrunner Angela Kang consulted with Reedus on Daryl’s lack of a love life ahead of Season 10, a possible hint one of his close friendships could turn romantic.

“We’ve talked about, ‘What does a relationship for Daryl look like? Is he capable of it? Where is his heart?’ All of that,” Kang previously told TVLine. “Norman thinks very deeply about his character and has such good instincts, so we like to kind of check in with him and ask, ‘What are you thinking about this?’”

Reedus has since said Season 10 has “a little bit to say” on a potential Daryl-Carol coupling, but there’s also much more Daryl-Connie still ahead this year.

“Well, I think Daryl and Connie, it’s been really fun writing scenes for those two,” Kang said on Talking Dead. “I think Norman and Lauren, who plays Connie, they’re both great together and have a really fun chemistry. I can’t really say what’s gonna happen, I’ll just say there is more Daryl and Connie, and they’re amazing together.”

New episodes of The Walking Dead Season 10 premiere Sundays at 9/8c on AMC. For more TWD intel, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.