When the AMC TV network and Walking Dead creators announced there would be a spin-off series to coincide with the critically acclaimed series The Walking Dead, fans were very excited yet curious as to what this series would be all about. Well on Aug. 23, fans got their first look at the spin-off titled Fear the Walking Dead.

The series is set in Los Angles and, instead of the apocalypse already being well under way like in the main series, starts at the very beginning of the outbreak in a much more populated area than the original show’s location of Georgia. The following for this show encompasses many people who have been fans of The Walking Dead since the very beginning.

“I have been watching the Walking Dead since it began in 2010,” senior Abby Wilt said. “It took me a while to get into the whole “zombie craze” but after the first three episodes, I was hooked.”

Because of the die-hard fans of the mainstream show, expectations have been high and the spinoff has its hands full trying to fill such big shoes.

“My expectations with this show will always be high, especially because I am comparing it to The Walking Dead,” senior Emily Battista said. “I am looking forward to seeing what they have in store.”

Some fans are also fully aware that like with any other show, the opening few episodes may be slow, but for good reason.

“It was as I expected,” senior Kevin Cardella said. “The episodes were kind of slow, but you can clearly see them building into large significant events. It’s also nice to see a different take to the show other than the original show.”

This show, however, takes a very different approach to the zombie apocalypse scenario. Instead of the seasoned veterans who know how to survive against the “walkers” (what this shows call zombies) in the main show, the characters of “Fear” have no idea how to handle this outbreak, or even what is going on. That, and the fact that there aren’t nearly as many walkers roaming around yet because the outbreak had just started, give it a unique twist.

“I expected the character to be naïve about what to do when approached by a walker,” Wilt said. “The thing that makes this show great is that it shows you what happened before the first episode of The Walking Dead.”

Kevin Cardella had a very similar opinion on the general population:

“In this new series they are living with the mind-set that these are just sick people who need help,” Cardella said. “By trying to help them and failing to see the danger of the walkers, people are getting infected more easily.”

With the show already renewed for another season before its first one is over, it will be interesting to see how these innocent people are forced to adapt. The spinoff series Fear The Walking Dead is on Sunday nights on AMC at 9:00 p.m. Season 6 of The Walking Dead begins Sunday, Oct. 11 at 9:00 p.m. on AMC as well.

Lions Eye Staff Editor,
Paul Alberici, paa5102@psu.edu
updated by Lion’s Eye Web Staff