'The Walking Dead' Star Opens up About New Season 9 Relationship

08/10/2018 12:51 pm EDT

The Walking Dead Season Nine will be a new frontier for Jerry actor Cooper Andrews, as many of the show's survivors find love in rebuilding the world.

Speaking to ComicBook.com in promotion of The Walking Dead Season Eight's blu-ray and DVD release on Aug. 21st, Andrews opened up about what to expect from his character, who has grown into much more than the pun-filled comic relief introduced in Season Seven.

"Season Nine, at least for Jerry, is 'this is what happens after now,'" Andrews said. "I guess that is for everybody. This is what happens after the war. But he's not holding on to anything. He's not holding grudges. For Jerry, he's trying to see what this new world is going to be like and how he can help. And so he's going to be helping out, I guess a lot, just doing what he can. 'Do you need me to pick up that extra thing of paper towels? Okay, I'll be right back.' I'm that guy."

Jerry is purely interested in "Just helping build that future, any way he can," Andrews said. "But even with The Kingdom, that's a thing we built on top of, but now we have to create this new world from scratch. And I think there's a challenge, but it also feels like we're frontiersmen and not so much a victim trying to survive the world."

Speaking of building, Jerry will be building a new relationship with Kingdom survivor Nabila, as was revealed in the Season Nine trailer. It's one of a couple new romances coming to The Walking Dead's new season.

"It's fun. It's brand new for me," Andrews said of the characters' romance. "This is my first on-camera kiss, or on-stage kiss, or whatever that is. So everyone's like, 'Ah-ooh!' But we had so much fun. And we're just... it's one of those relationships where it's not built off of this fear of like, 'Oh! You're the last person. I'm the last person. Let's get together.'"

Jerry and Nabila are genuinely into one another, in a relationship which will likely have been established off-screen in the time jump which will have taken place between the Season Eight finale and Season Nine premiere.

"This is just because the world got happier and the people in it are able to kind of see past the next day, and think a little bit in longer terms," Andrews said. "But it's fun. You get to see Jerry care for something. And you see that there's more to him than just being - which I love being - [Ezekiel's] shadow, his hand that talks a lot. But it's nice to see that the world is getting bigger for that kind of relationship, for him."

Fans of the Ezekiel and Jerry bromance need not fear. With the King having found love with Carol, the two characters will balance their romantic relationships and close friendship just fine.

"They're still going to need to do their work, and they're still going to see plenty of each other," Andrews said. "This balances out their time together, just a little better."

Fear the Walking Dead returns for the back half of its fourth season on Aug. 12 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season on Oct. 7, 2018. Season Eight is set to release on blu-ray and DVD on Aug. 21, 2018. For more updates and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter!

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