The upcoming spinoff exhibits weren’t all the time the plan for AMC.
In 2018, the corporate introduced a trilogy of movies starring Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, however on account of a wide range of elements just like the pandemic and bigger trade shifts, the content material technique as an alternative modified to a number of spinoffs.
For Scott M. Gimple, The Strolling Lifeless Universe’s chief content material officer and govt producer, that additionally got here with challenges.
“I’d have liked to not announce the spinoffs till after The Strolling Lifeless. That will have been superior,” Gimple informed Adweek in the course of the Tv Critics Affiliation’s winter press tour in January, noting that, ideally, followers wouldn’t know which characters had been surviving the unique collection finale.
However in the long run, the chief content material officer knew the information needed to be shared.
“Higher to manage the narrative your self and get it on the market,” added Gimple. “We introduced Maggie and Negan, New York Metropolis, that’s actually not lots of info, however I really like folks being within the second of the present itself.”
The upcoming spinoffs are designed for followers of The Strolling Lifeless however are additionally concentrating on new audiences that might not be aware of the unique IP.
“We constructed these tales so that you simply don’t must have watched the exhibits,” mentioned Gimple. “Lifeless Metropolis is the story of a girl who has to ally herself with the person who horrifically and performatively killed her husband. I believe that’s a narrative for anyone.”
In contrast to the flagship collection, which premiered on the linear community, Lifeless Metropolis can be comprised of six episodes, which Gimple mentioned creates narrative imperatives that inform the story in a different way, together with a return to promoting, which then speaks to breaks in storytelling.
It’s a brand new method of telling tales for The Strolling Lifeless’s newest growth. And with the flagship collection initially premiering in 2010, The Strolling Lifeless was due for an improve for the streaming world.
“Your complete world modified throughout [TWD’s] lifespan,” mentioned Gimple. “Thank goodness for us, as a result of now we have to inform tales in numerous methods, and streaming makes us do this. Type dictates content material.”
The Strolling Lifeless: Lifeless Metropolis premieres on AMC on Sunday, June 18, at 9 p.m. ET.
