‘The Walking Dead’ Prequel Has a Series Title
It's official: AMC's The Walking Dead companion series has a title.
Executive producer Robert Kirkman announced Friday that the companion series, which starts as a prequel to the original, will be titled Fear The Walking Dead.
"IT'S OFFICIAL! The walking dead companion show on AMC is called FEAR THE WALKING DEAD! Expect more news very soon! #FearTheWalkingDead," he posted on Twitter.
This news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter where the thread comes as the companion went through development season - and was picked up to series and preemptively renewed for a second season - under code names including Cobalt andFear The Walking Dead.
On March 9, AMC announced the series pickup and renewal for the then-untitled series.
Kirkman, who created The Walking Dead comic series, co-wrote the pilot with Dave Erickson (Sons of Anarchy). Kirkman and Erickson will exec produce alongside Walking Dead's Gale Anne Hurd and Dave Alpert. Erickson will serve as showrunner, and Adam Davidson will direct the pilot. Walking Dead VFX guru Greg Nicotero will also exec produce the series.
While AMC has been tight-lipped on the series' premise, sources tells The Hollywood Reporter that the drama is a prequel that takes place in Los Angeles at the onset of the zombie outbreak. AMC confirmed that the companion series is set in Los Angeles but revealed nothing more beyond that it will focus on new characters and storylines.
Cliff Curtis (Gang Related) stars as Sean Cabrera, a teacher who shares a son with his ex-wife. Sons of Anarchy's Kim Dickens is set to co-star as Nancy, a guidance counselor who works at the school with Sean and is seeing him romantically. Frank Dillane (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) co-stars as Nancy's son Nick, who has battled a drug problem and Alycia Debnam Carey (Into the Woods) will play Nancy's ambitious daughter, Ashley, who is the polar opposite of Nick and dreams of leaving L.A. for Berkeley when the apocalypse strikes.
Fear The Walking Dead will premiere in the "late summer" with season two set for 2016. An official premiere date has not yet been announced. The season five finale of the flagship series airs Sunday at 9 p.m.