AMC announced Friday, Sept. 5, that it has ordered a pilot episode of the "The Walking Dead" companion series.
"The Walking Dead's" Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert are also executive producers of the new project being produced by AMC Studios. Dave Erickson, who worked as a producer for "Sons of Anarchy" from 2008 to 2011, will serve as an executive producer and showrunner of the companion series. Kirkman and Erickson recently turned in a pilot script, and sources told Entertainment Weekly that AMC's executive ranks were really impressed.
"Almost from the beginning of 'The Walking Dead' on AMC, fans have been curious about what is going on in the zombie apocalypse in other parts of the world. In fact, beyond requests for zombie cameos, it's the question I get asked the most," said AMC President Charlie Collier in a statement. "Obviously, we all take our stewardship of the original franchise incredibly seriously and we, along with Robert, Gale, David and now Dave, are all proceeding with extreme care in order to ensure that we are offering fans something truly compelling, engaging and distinct. We're thrilled to be taking this next step with these remarkable partners."
"There are many corners of 'The Walking Dead' universe that remain unseen in the shadows," added Kirkman in the same statement. "Being given the opportunity to shine a light into those corners and see what lurks out there is an absolute thrill. I know the fans are anxious to hear what Dave and I have been cooking up for this new universe of 'The Walking Dead,' and I'm happy to be one step closer to sharing it with them,"
"I've been fortunate to have collaborated with both Robert and AMC on past projects and I'm thrilled to join them again, along with Gale and David, to build upon 'The Walking Dead's' already epic narrative," said Erickson.
The network first announced it was developing a "Walking Dead" companion series in September 2013, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The pilot, which is scheduled for production late this year, will feature a new cast of characters and will not be set in Georgia.
"[It will be set in a] really different location with completely different people, so we are going to see an entirely different corner of the 'Walking Dead 'world. It definitely won't be set in Georgia, I can at least say that. It's important to us that this show exists on its own," Kirkman told IGN in October last year.
"The spinoff has to be a show worthy of existing, or else we've all sold out. I think that the ideal situation is, when you're watching the spinoff, you're like, "Wow, this is a really awesome show." The whole other show doesn't need to exist for this show to be cool and stand on its own," he said at the time.
'The Walking Dead' Season 5 premieres on Oct. 12 on AMC.