When Andrew Lincoln left The Walking Dead in 2018, it was announced that the adventures of Rick Grimes, his character, until then the protagonist of the series, would continue in three films. That never happened, and those three feature films ended up becoming the six-part series that premieres Monday, February 26 on AMC+. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live follows the adventures of Rick and also those of Michonne, the zombie apocalypse survivor played by Danai Gurira. Anyone who watched the original series knows that her love story was left unfinished and she set out to find him: now they will try to move forward while trying to survive in a hostile world where the biggest threat is not the half-dead, but the living.
“The Ones Who Live” is the sixth (and essentially final) series derived from “The Walking Dead” (2010-2022) to premiere. Born from the mind of Robert Kirkman in comic book form, the zombie television universe continues to grow. First it was Fear the Walking Dead, then World Beyond. Tales of the Walking Dead followed and the three focused on protagonists from the original series: Dead City (starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Daryl Dixon (starring Norman Reedus) and The Ones Who Live.
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Their characters have seen the television industry change around them, so much so that it has even redefined their fictional universe. “Compared to the usual 16-episode seasons in the years when The Walking Dead dominated the ratings, it became the most-watched series on all of American television, even when aired on a cable channel.”, the derivative series present focused stories focuses on a few characters, with a smaller universe and six episodes per season.
Danai Gurira, as Michonne in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. Gene Page/AMC
Scott M. Gimple (Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, 52 years old) is responsible for coordinating the entire Walking Dead universe and co-creator of The Ones Who Live. He joined the original series in its second season and was its top manager during its most successful years. In a video call conversation with EL PAÍS, he himself analyzes how the changes in the industry and the consumption of audiovisual content have shaped the course of the franchise. “We were shooting 16 episodes a year and that meant a completely different relationship with the audience, who had an appointment to watch the series on Sundays for 16 weeks. It's like meeting someone every Sunday for 16 weeks and building a relationship. Things are different with this new series. We have six episodes of different series and the form determines the content. It's a different way of telling stories, more reserved, there are fewer opportunities to take root. The deviations that I liked to make by focusing on one character or focusing on one corner of this universe are now more complicated to do or you have to approach it as a different series. But it’s also very interesting,” describes the screenwriter and producer.
One of the series' many challenges that have arisen around The Walking Dead is having its own identity while making it clear that they belong to the same universe. “I didn't want it to feel like they were all the same series, I wanted them to be very, very different,” says Gimple. In the case of “The Ones Who Live,” the “deep, intense, crazy and epic” love story of Rick and Michonne is the common thread. Gimple recognizes that “The Ones Who Live” may be in many ways the most cohesive story with the original series, even if the situation the protagonists find themselves in is very different.
Terry O'Quinn plays General Beale in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. Gene Page/AMC
Another challenge will be to keep the public interested in characters they haven't seen since 2018 in the case of Rick and since 2020 in the case of Michonne, while also continuing to capture the attention of an audience capable of has been following the fate of zombie apocalypse survivors on television for nearly three decades. Was it an additional difficulty for the screenwriters? “Actually, I think the opposite is true. Where was Rick all this time? What has he done? How do we portray all of this and how do we do it without showing everything he went through? “He's a different person now and in a way it was like writing a whole new character because he's not the man he was back then,” reflects Gimple.
Actors Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira are co-creators and executive producers of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. According to Gimple, the cast's involvement was complete and complete in all phases of production, from the months-long meetings to prepare the structure, the plot twists and plans, controlling the budgets, hiring the crew, to scouting locations… “It was like playing in a band, we covered for each other. They helped with post-production, editing, marketing… There were times when we had to split up to do different things,” says Gimple. “They've been with these characters for so long that I understand that they wanted to take the bull by the horns and take it where they wanted.”
Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira and Scott M. Gimple at the launch of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live on February 7 in Los Angeles. Frazer Harrison (Getty Images)
The future of zombies is secured in the short term. Dead City and Daryl Dixon have already been renewed for the second season and it is not out of the question that The Ones Who Live could also have a sequel. In the eyes of Scott M. Gimple, there is even a crossover between the protagonists of the three, so that their characters can meet again. “It's my hope and my dream and what I'm working towards.” But as you've seen with the changes in this series, who knows what will happen. But yes, that's exactly what I'm trying to achieve in one way or another.” The question is inevitable: How long can zombies survive on television? The head of the franchise responds: “Robert Kirkman sold The Walking Dead as a zombie movie that never ends. “I'm doing everything I can to make that happen.”
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