Production is scheduled to begin very soon onThe Walking Dead’s highly anticipated spinoff entitledThe Walking Dead Companion Series: Cobalt.Kim Dickenshasalready been setas the lead, a guidance counselor with two children and a dark past, withCliff Curtisplaying the male lead as her love interest, a divorced teacher. Wereported last monththat the series will be set in Los Angeles, but there is still much we don’t know about the series as a whole.Entertainment Weeklycaught up with series co-creatorRobert Kirkman, who revealed that the show is about a type of family that the original Walking Dead hasn’t explored before, adding that the spinoff will be “startlingly different” from its predecessor.
“I will say that this is going to be a show about family. But it’s going to be a show about a different type of family that we haven’t explored inThe Walking Deadthus far. So what we’re trying to do withThe Walking Deadspinoff is keep the story as familiar as possible for people that loveThe Walking Dead, so you’ll get the kind of things that you expect from a Walking Dead story. But, at the same time, we’ll want to tell these stories in a completely different way with completely different people in a completely different setting that’s going to make for a fundamentally different show. I think the look and feel ofThe Walking Deadspinoff is going to be startlingly different.”
Robert Kirkmanalso added that Cobalt stands on its own, and fans don’t need to be caught up with the original series to follow the spin-off.
“We want it to be a new show that can stand on its own. You could watchThe Walking Deadspinoff if you’ve never watched an episode ofThe Walking Deadand get a really great, rich, fulfilling experience out of it. It has to be a show that can stand on its own. I think that’s what we’ve accomplished, and we start filming in a couple of days. I’m really excited.”
He also confirmed that Cobalt won’t feature any of the characters from the comic book, addressing why the show is set in Los Angeles, completely on the other side of the country fromThe Walking Deadsurvivors.
“It’s Los Angeles. It’s a corner of the world that we have never explored in the comic book series. So, theoretically, something like this could be happening in Los Angeles in the comic book series, but we don’t show you this area of the country in the comic book series. So it fits within that world, but it is all new characters, all new events and all kinds of crazy stuff.”
What do you think of these new details? Chime in with your thoughts below. AMC hasn’t issued a premiere date for Cobalt yet, butThe Walking Deadreturns with the back half ofSeason 5on Sunday, February 8.
