Roundup 10.27.11 – THE WALKING DEAD
The big news is that “The Walking Dead” has already been picked up for a third season, despite the summer drama behind the scenes. Ratings have been solid, with the show’s record-setting season premiere pulling in 7.3 million viewers. It’s a solid hit, with the first season averaging 5.2 million per show. For cable, that’s pretty respectable.
Of course, you can see what our folks thought about the season premiere here.
So far, the show hasn’t introduced the Governor, but you can find him in the new book written by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga. Sam MacPherson at Movie Overmind has this review of the new St. Martin’s Press release, The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor (which is now in our store). Big Shiny Robot also has a review. And for an audiobok excerpt read by Fred Berman, you can head over to FEARnet.
Creator and co-executive producer Robert Kirkman tells NBC Philadelphia, “The tone on the first season was dark, and I think we’re going a little darker for our second season, so there’s more danger; it’s more intense – I think that it’s going to be pretty rough! Our characters have a hard life ahead of them.”
He also says the dust has settled on the summer hullaballoo, even though we may never led to Frank Darabont’s departure from a series he helped develop from the comic book… [More at NBC Philadelphia’s PopcornBiz]
Producer Gale Anne Hurd weighed in on quite a few things, including how the show has deviated from the comics (most espeically the still-living Shane), and the dustup with Darabont. In this article from IndieWire, there’s a mention that money was involved, which may be a new wrinkle in the fabric of the tale… Hurd also talks about her time working with Roger Corman.
Shane Walsh gets some discussion between MTV and actor Jon Bernthal, who talked about the opportunity Shane gets to redeem himself after being ready to leave the group.
And one can’t mention Corman without bringing up George Romero, who’s developing “The Zombie Autopsies” when he could have been involved in “The Walking Dead”. io9 talked with Romero about his decision to do one over the other, and what defines a “George Romero zombie”.
And if you can’t get enough of “The Walking Dead” on TV or in comics, there’s an app for that. Specifically, a Facebook app developed by Red Bee. It involves a story told from the point of view of someone left behind by the walking necromorphs.
Left behind? Merle Dixon, who cut off his own hand to escape a turrrible fate. He’s been missing, but TV Guide has a rumor that he could be making a return, maybe in the November 13th episode focused on Merle’s brother, Daryl. Norman Reedus talks about Daryl with Zap2It, saying that while the character may be skilled in zombie-slaying, he’s not got a knack for the ladies yet.
Zap2It also got to talk with Norman Reedus, who shares that people will get to know more about Daryl Dixon this season.
For those who enjoy seeing how things are done, MovieWeb has a behind-the-scenes video about the props on the show, and a little of what we can expect for season two. And USA Today has this article about the music in the show, interviewing composer Bear McReary (known for “Battlestar Galactica” among other things…)
More video: Sarah Wayne Callies talks with the folks at “Good Day LA” about her role as Lori Grimes on the show.
Netflix, despite losing 800,000 subscribers recently, has inked a deal to carry “Dead” exclusively for the US and Canada. Season one is now available. [Hollywood Reporter]
And io9 has this breakdown of what may be in store for this season, using the comic book and hints from trailers and behind-the-scenes video as clues.
