The Walking Dead: What Cailey Fleming’s pay raise tells us about season 10

Now that season 9 of The Walking Dead is in the books, it’s time to look ahead at season 10 and Cailey Fleming’s new contract offers some clues.

The Walking Dead’s ninth season didn’t end on a huge cliffhanger, which means that fans don’t have to spend the hiatus contemplating which cast members will be around in season 10. We know that Judith Grimes, portrayed by the brilliant Cailey Fleming, will be back. Fleming’s new contract, obtained by The Blast, proves it. However, Fleming’s new contract also yields some interesting information about the upcoming season.

Season 9 of The Walking Dead featured two major time jumps and a handful of smaller ones. There was the initial 18-month jump from All Out War to 901, then a month between 901 and 902. There was a 6-year time jump between 905 and 906, at which point fans were introduced to the future of the show. And lastly there was a span of a few months between 915 and 916.

There have been rumors swirling of another time jump, but knowing that Fleming, who is 12, is signed on to appear in season 10 makes that somewhat unlikely. However Fleming’s contract is for a lump sum, not a per-episode rate. If she appeared in all 16 episodes of the season she would make roughly $15,000, which isn’t much compared to the other cast members.

The really interesting part of Fleming’s contract comes with the tiny detail that the actress would be compensated an extra $10,000 should filming require her to relocate for a period of time beyond the normal time it takes to film. (She will also be booked in first class for all travel) While the extra compensation makes sense from the standpoint that the pre-teen has to balance school and shooting, it also makes an interesting case that she doesn’t appear in the entire season and that instead she moves on to the Rick Grimes movies.

We know that Danai Gurira will only appear in a handful of episodes in season 10, and it stands to reason that wherever Michonne goes, Judith will go with her. Losing the Judith-Negan relationship would be a huge bummer, but having Judith reunite with  Rick would be worth it.

Obviously at this point this is all speculation, but it’s not often that we have a chance to see the details of cast member contracts. This particular contract is very interesting, and we look forward to seeing how it all plays out when The Walking Dead returns this fall.