First-look photos from the "anthology-style" sixth season of Fear the Walking Dead reveal new character pairings in the wake of the group's forced separation by Virginia (Colby Minifie). The fifth season finale ended with the survivors, including newlyweds John (Garret Dillahunt) and June (Jenna Elfman), divided and dispersed across far-reaching settlements controlled by Virginia's Pioneers, with only Morgan (Lennie James) staying behind at Humbug's Gulch. While Morgan's fate remains TBD — he might have been murdered by Virginia — his band of do-gooders must now adjust to life under Pioneer rule and the ironfisted Virginia in different corners of the zombie apocalypse.
Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and Victor Strand (Colman Domingo) relocate to a Pioneer settlement in Lawton, Oklahoma, as revealed by the season's newest Comic-Con trailer; elsewhere, Virginia utilizes the services of former barber Daniel Salazar (Rubén Blades). In Texas, Luciana (Danay Garcia) pairs off with Sarah (Mo Collins) at the quarry nicknamed "Tank Town," while Dwight (Austin Amelio) partners with video journalist Althea (Maggie Grace).
"We're going to follow our characters on a very different journey — a far darker one — in Season 6 and that required them to face not just an adversary who views the world in a way contrary to everything our heroes fought for [in Season 5], but also to find themselves in positions where their belief in the benevolent world they were fighting for will be challenged at every turn," showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg said in an October interview. "The answer ultimately lied in having Virginia separate everyone, sending them to different corners of her apocalyptic domain."
Fear executive producer and Walking Dead chief content officer Scott Gimple was first to say the new season takes an "anthology" approach, telling Entertainment Weekly in January, "Structurally, the show is going to change quite a bit."
"There's going to be a great deal more focus within the stories, a little less vignette-y in telling 16 little movies," Gimple said. "The guys are out of the gate wonderfully with the first two episodes, and it is a differentiating thing. It's something that separates that show from the other two shows [The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond], telling these 16 little movies, being a bit more anthological. It still is a serialized story, but it's told through these very focused perspectives."
