'The Walking Dead' Casts Two More Comic Characters for Season 9

The Walking Dead has made serious waves heading into its ninth season on AMC, announcing the casting of several key characters from Robert Kirkman's ongoing comic series. People like Magna, Alpha, Beta, and several others have already been cast for the upcoming season, and now it's time for the community of Hilltop to get some comic-inspired additions.

This week, Skybound Entertainment announced the casting of characters Tammy Rose and Earl the Blacksmith from the comics. Tammy is going to be played by Brett Butler (Grace Under Fire, How to Get Away With Murder) while John Finn (Dawson's Creek, NCIS) has been cast as Earl.

While neither character is as pivotal to the overall story as someone like Beta (the villainous Whisperer who will be played by Ryan Hurst), they both have a couple of significant moments throughout the comics.

Tammy first appeared in The Walking Dead #135, and it was made known fairly early on that she was a bit of a hothead. If you recall, she's the mother of the bully that Carl beat up, who subsequently threw a fit and had Maggie put Carl in jail. Tammy eventually came around and worked alongside Maggie, only to be killed by the Whisperers shortly after.

Earl is best known in the comics for his role as Carl's mentor when the young Mr. Grimes moves to Hilltop, away from his father. After the two develop a relationship, Carl decides to become Earl's blacksmith apprentice.

There will be significant changes to these two characters when they arrive on the show in Season 9. In the TV version of the story, Earl and Tammy will actually be married, and it's unclear how that will affect their individual stories. It seems as though Earl will be replacing Morton, who was married to Tammy in the comics.

What do you think of the new additions to The Walking Dead cast in Season 9? What other comic characters are you hoping to see appear? Let us know in the comments!

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season on Oct. 7, 2018. For more updates and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter!