The Walking Dead Is Crawling With “The Stuff of Nightmares” When Connie Returns

Lauren Cohan teases The Walking Dead is “the stuff of nightmares” when crawling creatures creep on Connie (Lauren Ridloff) and Virgil (Kevin Carroll) inside a “haunted house” swarmed by walkers. The fright-filled Season 11 Episode 6, directed by Walking Dead veteran Greg Nicotero and scripted by Kevin Deiboldt, reveals what happens to the long-missing Connie after she escapes from a Whisperer cave in Season 10. Connie and Virgil return for the first time this season in “On the Inside,” now streaming on AMC+ ahead of a September 26 premiere on AMC. 

“This Sunday’s kick-ass episode is the stuff of nightmares, do not miss it,” the Maggie Rhee actor cautioned on Instagram. “Hats off to [Deiboldt] and [Nicotero].” 

Showrunner Angela Kang was the first to reveal Connie would return in a “little horror movie” episode this season. She went missing in the Season 10 episode “Squeeze” before Virgil, who played a role in Michonne’s (Danai Gurira) departure last season, found Connie outside of Oceanside in “A Certain Doom.”

“We’re really excited to have Lauren Ridloff back as Connie. She went off and was in a different cinematic universe for a while,” Kang said The Walking Dead Season 11 Preview Special, referring to Ridloff’s role in Marvel’s Eternals. “She’s been a resilient survivor out in the woods and we saw that she crossed with Virgil, and when we come upon them, they’re gonna be in some danger with some people who are really far gone.”

Kang added: “I won’t say much more than that, but they get to kind of star in their own little horror movie within the show. So she’s been through a lot.” 

Deiboldt thanked Nicotero and the episode’s core cast of actors – including Ridloff, Carroll, Angel Theory, and Norman Reedus – in an Instagram post teasing “our own mini horror movie chock full of scares, creepiness (and just a bit of heart).”

“The episode lives and breathes thanks to the vision of director [Nicotero]— I couldn’t have hoped for a better partner on this one. An absolute pleasure,” Deiboldt wrote. “The commitment of our cast in this episode, especially [Ridloff], [Carroll], [Theory], and (of course) [Reedus], took my breath away.” 

The writer-producer also thanked the “tireless” Walking Dead crew and expressed support for IATSE, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, ahead of the labor union’s strike vote.  

“On the Inside” is now streaming on AMC+ and premieres Sunday, September 26, at 9/8c on AMC. Follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter for all things The Walking Dead.