The Walking Dead Spinoff Creator Reveals How Third Series Differs From Other TWD Shows

AMC's untitled third Walking Dead series is described as a coming of age-slash-adventure tale centered around a younger cast of core characters, a key distinction setting it apart from The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead.

"It's people coming of age but on a quest of sorts. The quest aspect makes it very different beyond the fact that these kids are unlike characters we've seen before," Scott Gimple, who co-created the series with TWD veteran Matthew Negrete, told Deadline. "They've grown up in all of this but they've also grown up in relative safety. So they're aware of the world and of walkers but they've grown up behind walls so they're not out there mixing it up with the walkers and the dangers. They've had a very sheltered experience. They've also enjoyed something close to a First World kind of life. So it's a big deal for them to experience these things. They aren't ignorant of the world but they haven't had to face it or deal with it as deeply as they will in the stories that we're going to be telling."

The spinoff's first full trailer, debuted at New York Comic Con earlier in October, revealed first looks at an ensemble that includes Felix (Nico Tortorella), Hope (Alexa Mansour), Iris (Aliyah Royale), Elton (Nicolas Cantu), Silas (Hal Cumpston) and Huck (Annet Mahendru). With the series taking place roughly a decade into the apocalypse, most of these characters belong to the first generation raised after the fall of civilization.

"There's a lot to be excited about. It's a really, really cool cast. Very funny, very different, very young," Gimple said. "Even just in the trailer there's a lot there for fans to take in and a lot to talk about. It implies how very, very different the world is than we have seen before. There's been a lot going on, things that have happened that are outside the knowledge of the characters on the other shows. Big things that have their own history and a layered and deep mythology to it."

Unlike TWD and Fear, where experienced survivors typically have little trouble dispatching flesh-eating walkers — called "empties" in the spinoff — TWD3 is comparable to the earliest seasons of both shows with its amateur group of zombie killers.

"They know how horrible the world is out there and they've all had trauma, to some extent, because of that knowledge and the things that have happened to the world. But they're not hardened survivors," Gimple said. "They are like characters who have been watching the show for years. Now they're stepping into that world."

This new series premieres on AMC in Spring 2020. 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.