Cudlitz mentions no Fear the Walking Dead comics as interesting difference
By Susie Graham
Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead take place in the same apocalyptic universe yet are intended to be different shows. Michael Cudlitz had an interesting take.
Fear the Walking Dead is supposed to be different. It has a different feel. It’s on a different coast during a different time period and focused on family dynamics. It has the freedom to explore things we haven’t seen yet on The Walking Dead.
Last season and as we continue in season 2, we’re seeing things at the very beginning in one small section of Los Angeles. Now we’re moving out to sea, something fans have always wondered about –could they get a boat and survive out there for a while?
A big difference between Fear and The Walking Dead is that Fear doesn’t have any comic book source material to draw from for its scripts. While that gives them a great freedom, it gives them challenges as well.
More from Undead Walking
- Walking Dead alum Jayson Warner Smith promotes new film, Chipper, watch it now
- Walking Dead actor Chandler Riggs filming new movie in Tampa Bay
- Why is there no season 12 of The Walking Dead?
- Will Morgan Jones find Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live spinoff?
- Watch Tales of TWD actress Jillian Bell in Prime Video’s Candy Cane Lane
Michael Cudlitz brought up one of those challenges during his recent guest appearance on The Dave and Creech Podcast. It’s something that hadn’t occurred to me. The comics in The Walking Dead don’t just provide a possible road map for the show, they give it a comic book feel.
Many of the characters are very large in their appearance or their ways. They gain a super-hero like status in the show that creates a world that is grand and epic, yet grounded in reality. Abraham has his mustache and speech, Rick was a uniformed sheriff, Eugene has his mullet, Daryl has a crossbow, Michonne a katana.
In Fear the Walking Dead, it’s even more grounded in reality as if it’s really happening, an exploration of “what if”, more serious so people examine more critically the realism of the choices made by the characters.
Dave and Creech Podcast (75:00)
According to Michael, in The Walking Dead “the ridiculousness of the characters, and by ridiculousness, I mean the larger than life aspects of these characters, allows us to embody the whole zombie apocalypse element of it.”
I found that a very interesting observation. I think that’s another reason people tended to overestimate their own badass potential, how they would respond and what they would know and not know during the first season of Fear.
People were very critical of Madison for not telling Alicia what was going on when most moms would be protective. People were frustrated with Travis for not wanting to kill the infected, when most people would imagine there is a cure and wouldn’t think about people eating people as an option to a flu epidemic.
But the creators of Fear and of The Walking Dead do their best to try new things and take risks. Just as Michael mentioned about looking at the comics and the show of The Walking Dead as 2 different things, if we look at Fear and The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead that way, Fear will find the audience that loves it.
I’m tuning in!