The Walking Dead and Rectify share actors and poignancy

The Walking Dead and Rectify share actors and poignancy. Some same locations are used. Both series engage viewers in stories and lives of the characters.

Fans of AMC’s The Walking Dead are still grieving the heavy losses from Sunday’s season 7 premiere. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, 10/26, AMC’s sister channel SundanceTV airs the premiere of Rectify‘s fourth and final season.

Interestingly, while the shows are set several years apart and walkers roam only in The Walking Dead, the two series have more in common than you might think! There are shared actors, shared locations, and other interesting commonalities between the two shows.

But first , let’s take a look at the storyline for Rectify.

The leading man, Daniel Holden (Aden Young), has been released from death row on a technicality after having served 19 years in prison. We are not told explicitly whether or not Daniel was actually guilty of the crimes of which he has been convicted.

He returns to his childhood home, which his mother Janet (J. Smith-Cameron) now shares with her second husband, Ted (Bruce McKinnon). Janet and Ted have a son together, giving Daniel a half-brother, Jared (Jake Austin Walker), that Daniel’s never really known. Meanwhile, his younger sister, Amantha (Abigail Spencer), has been fighting to appeal his conviction her entire adult life.

Daniel has an uncomfortable relationship with his stepbrother, Ted, Jr. (Clayne Crawford) but actually finds some emotional solace in Teddy’s wife Tawney (Adelaide Clemens).

Other fascinating characters include Sheriff Daggett (J.D. Evermore) who is steadfastly in search of the truth, attorney Jon (Luke Kirby) who helped secure Daniel’s release, the local Senator Foulkes (Michael O’Neill) who insists Daniel is guilty, Daniel’s dear friend and prison mate Kerwin (Johnny Ray Gill), his duplicitous friend Trey (Sean Bridgers) from high school, and a whole host of other small town characters exploring Daniel’s situation.

You may be thinking that Rectify‘s story sounds vastly different from The Walking Dead. So what exactly do the two shows have in common?

The Walking Dead and Rectify share several of the same actors.

J.D. Evermore

played an outlaw named Harley on

The Walking Dead

, a member of Joe’s “Claimers”. However, he gives an impressive, yet nuanced performance as the long arm of the law, Sheriff Carl Daggett, on

Rectify

JD Evermore – in the SundanceTV original series “Rectify” – Photo Credit: James Minchin III /

Michael Traynor interestingly plays an emotionally conflicted character in both series, as Nicholas in The Walking Dead and as George in Rectify.

Ted Huckabee and Ann Mahoney play a married couple in Rectify that is friends with Teddy and Tawney. In The Walking Dead, they are both residents of Alexandria but not married to one another.

Linds Edwards plays the one and only Leon Bassett in The Walking Dead, Rick’s “green” protegé whose naivite ultimately results in him being bitten. In Rectify, he portrays the victim’s tortured but vengeful brother, Bobby Dean. Edwards’ performances are so impressive that I did not even realize it was the same actor until I read who was playing Bobby Dean.

Jake Austin Walker plays younger brother Jared in Rectify. And while he has not graced the screen on The Walking Dead, he has worked on companion series Fear The Walking Dead as Seth Geary in season 2.

Adam Minarovich very convincingly played Carol’s abusive husband, Ed Peletier, in The Walking Dead. His character in Rectify is not much more likeable. He portrays a friend of Bobby Dean who assaults Daniel.

Jane O’Neill hid walkers in Hershel’s barn as Patricia on The Walking Dead. A keen eye will also spot her as mother of a young eyewitness in Rectify.

Leon Basset (Linds Edwards), The Walking Dead – AMC /

Aldis Hodge was Michonne’s boyfriend in a pivotal flashback episode of The Walking Dead‘s season 4. Watch for him in Rectify as the brother of Daniel’s trusted friend, Kerwin. His scenes are very heartfelt and bittersweet. Well done, Mr. Hodge.

Other actors portraying roles in both series are Mandi Christine Kerr (Alexandria resident, Barbara), Jill Jane Clements (Paula’s fellow Savior Molls), Ricky Wayne (Dawn’s fellow officer, O’Donnell), and Bethany Anne Lind (the woman who offers Morgan a bullet in the woods). Keep your eyes peeled to see where you spot them in Rectify as well.

The Walking Dead and Rectify share several filming locations.

Both shows have filmed heavily in Griffin, GA and you can spot several of the town’s landmarks in both series. Griffin, GA very convincingly serves as Rectify‘s fictional town of Paulie, GA.

The water tower behind Eugene when he first meets Abraham (ouch, it still hurts!) can also be seen in Rectify background shots.

Watch closely and you may also see the law firm where Carol stayed the night after being banished by Rick as Paulie residents drive through town at night.

Surely you recall the “Big Spot” location in

The Walking Dead

‘s season 4 opener. Who knew that

Rectify

‘s “Thrifty Town” store was just next door!

Rectify filming location for Paulie Tire & Rim Co., Griffin, GA /

The apothecary Denise, Daryl, and Rosita visited in The Walking Dead sits a mere two blocks behind the family tire story featured so heavily in Rectify.

Not too far a drive from Griffin is the real town of Woodbury, GA. Both series used a roadside restaurant in Woodbury. While it serves as a bar in Rectify, it was the barbecue restaurant that Rick and Carl (and later Michonne) stumble upon after fleeing the burning prison in The Walking Dead‘s season 4.

Similar stretches of railroad track and street names can be seen throughout both series. If I weren’t so engaged in the stories of both shows, I’d probably notice even more!

The Walking Dead and Rectify both explore “the human condition”

How many times have fans of The Walking Dead claimed that the show is more about the people than the zombies? (Not that we don’t love and need our walkers – we do!)

But, so often when trying to recruit a new viewer (especially a squeamish one), we find ourselves describing how we become so attached to the characters. The survivors on The Walking Dead have indeed become our #TWDFamily.

Might I suggest that the Holdens, Talbots, and other residents of Paulie in Rectify also feel like family to me. Part of what makes both series so captivating is how they allow us into their most vulnerable moments.

Indeed, actor Bruce McKinnon, who portrays Ted Talbot, Sr. in Rectify shared in a series promo here how he describes the show in three words – “the human condition”.

(L to R) JD Evermore as Sheriff Carl Daggett, Jake Austin Walker as Jared Talbot, Luke Kirby as Jon Stern, Abigail Spencer as Amantha Holden, Aden Young as Daniel Holden, Clayne Crawford as Ted Talbot Jr, Adelaide Clemens as Tawney Talbot, J Smith-Cameron as Janet Talbot, Bruce McKinnon as Ted Talbot Sr – Rectify _ Season 4, Gallery – Photo Credit: James Minchin/Sundance TV /

I have personally found that both shows elicit much conversation and inquiry about “what would we do?” in the situations portrayed on screen. How would we feel if we were in their shoes? How would we react? How would we make what seem like some of the most impossible decisions with which they are faced?

Rectify seasons 1 – 3 are available on Netflix. The fourth and final season begins 10/26 on SundanceTV. And then it’s time for the next episode of The Walking Dead on 10/30.

Two shows — vastly different in content, but very similar in being exceptional television.

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