The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 premiere, "Power Equals Power," was written by showrunner Eli Jorné and directed by the talented TWD veteran, Michael Satrazemis. It opened with an excellent scene showing walkers being harvested to cook down into a green goo used to power Manhattan. The scene was set to Ace Frehley's "New York Groove," which fits perfectly. A new season means new faces. Let's take a look at some of the newcomers for Dead City season 2.
This article contains spoilers for The Walking Dead: Dead City ep. 201, "Power Equals Power."
This season begins approximately six months after events from season 1. Maggie (Lauren Cohan), her son Hershel (Logan Kim), and a young girl, Ginny (Mahina Napoleon), are situated at the Bricks, Maggie's new community. Things aren't rosy between Maggie and the two teens, and things become even more complicated for all when New Babylon pays a visit.
Governor Charlie Byrd (Jasmine Walker) and Colonel Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles), both featured in season 1, arrive to recruit more soldiers for her mission to take over methane production in Manhattan. Here, viewers are briefly introduced to several new characters.
New characters in season 2 of Dead City
Dascha Polanco
Dascha Polanco stars as Lucia Narvaez, an officer in the New Babylon army. Polanco is well known for her roles in the Netflix series, Orange Is the New Black, as Dayanara "Daya" Diaz, and in the movie In the Heights, which also stars TWD alum Corey Hawkins. The actress has also appeared in Poker Face, Evil, When They See Us, The Perfect Match, The Irishman, American Dad!, and more.
Polanco also stars in the thriller, Terror Comes Knocking: The Marcela Borges Story, which is available on VOD via Prime Video. The story is based on the true account of Marcela Borges and her family, whose Florida home was invaded and the family was kidnapped and extorted.
Keir Gilchrist
Keir Gilchrist portrays Pierce, a resident of New Babylon who appears to be the secretary or historian for Governor Byrd. Gilchrist's most recent movie role is featured in the action comedy, Freaky Tales, starring Pedro Pascal. He is well-known as Sam Gardner in the Netflix series Atypical. The actor also had roles in United States of Tara, It Follows, Dead Silence, Love & Death, and more.
Gilchrist appears in the drama By Design that premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The movie is described as a twist on the body swap genre and stars Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Samantha Mathis, Melanie Giffith, Robin Tunney, Udo Kier, and Clifton Collins Jr.
Anthony Molinari
Anthony Molinari plays Major General Houseman of New Babylon who also visits the Bricks. Molinari has appeared in numerous episodes of both, General Hospital and Days of Our Lives. He can also be seen in episodes of Abbott Elementary, Lioness, Barry, Mayans M.C., Perry Mason, The Offer, and NCIS. His movie roles include Lola, Knox Goes Away, The Last Deal, and Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Molinari stars in Ben Pauling's Dream, an emotional story chronicling the ongoing topic of sex trafficking. The film raises money for rescue efforts of victims of trafficking.
Ari Loeb
Ari Loeb portrays Jason Ornell, the man hung by New Babylon for fleeing rather than face conscription. Loeb is a stuntman who has appeared in many notable titles including The Walking Dead, Tales of the Walking Dead, Snowfall, Kong: Skull Island, Zombieland: Double Tap, and more. He has also had acting roles in several of the above mentioned titles. He portrayed a T-900 zombie in Zombieland: Double Tap, a Seventh Man in Tales of the Walking Dead, and a cultist in Fear the Walking Dead.
Loeb is also an author and his most recent book, The Stunted Man, has been praised by Nicolas Cage who states the book is "Compelling, poetic, and very funny." Undead Walking had the pleasure of interviewing Loeb in 2024. Read it here.
Dead City - Manhattan
The other storyline featured in the premiere episode of Dead City season 2 was set in Manhattan, where Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has been forced into taking a leadership role. The Dama (Lisa Emery) threatened Hershel and Negan's family to force him into reverting to his old ways. The two characters below were introduced in this story.
Kim Coates
Kim Coates portrays Bruegel, leader of a fierce gang in Manhattan. Coates is best known for his roles as Alexander "Tig" Trager in the FX series Sons of Anarchy, and as Declan Gardiner in Bad Blood. He has been featured in recurring roles for several series, including Cold Case, Prison Break, CSI, and CSI: Miami. Coates has had roles in several movies, Bad Boys, The Last Boy Scout, Black Hawk Down, and more.
Recently he portrayed the first governor of the Utah Territory and the second president of the LDS Church, Brigham Young in the Netflix Western, American Primeval.
Jake Weary
Jake Weary portrays Christo, a gang member in Manhattan who was introduced to Negan's new, shocking Lucille. Weary portrayed Deran Cody in TNT's Animal Kingdom and Luke Snyder in As the World Turns. He is known for his roles in several horror titles, including It Follows, It Chapter Two, Zombeavers, and the conspiracy thriller How to Blow Up a Pipeline.
Next, Weary will appear in the drama, Westhampton, with fellow TWDU alum Ritchie Coster. Weary will also star in the latest Kevin Williamson series for Netflix, The Waterfront.
The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 airs new episodes each Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on AMC and AMC+.
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