I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t even heard about Fear the Walking Dead. However, if you are a fan of The Walking Dead, you should watch Fear the Walking Dead.
Fear the Walking Dead is a spin-off that takes place in Los Angeles about a month before the beginning of the first season of The Walking Dead.
It has already been renewed for a 16-episode second season in 2016 which gives me hope that Fear the Walking Dead will rescue itself from its initial slump.
Following an established show with huge shoes to fill, it’s no surprise that Fear the Walking Dead is off to a rocky start.
Fear the Walking Dead is a great show and it is not getting the accolades it deserves.
Fear the Walking Dead has been abused in some of its early reviews primarily from die-hard fans of the original who are not embracing the spin-off. It’s frustrating because I feel like the negative reviews are too petty.
I’m here to tell you why you need to give Fear the Walking Dead a shot and draw your own conclusions. Here is a list, without spoilers, of what you should understand if you’re going to watch Fear the Walking Dead.
Whether or not you watch The Walking Dead is irrelevant. You do not have to have seen a single episode of The Walking Dead to watch this show. It is a separate story that takes place in Los Angeles before the general public is wise to the impending catastrophe. Watching this requires no backstory or knowledge of The Walking Dead. It is a fresh story that takes place in the same world.
AMC introduced Fear the Walking Dead to an already disengaged audience at the worst time of year for TV. Not many people are watching and that’s AMC’s fault. The Walking Dead ended season five last spring. Fear the Walking Dead was introduced to its target audience while they were outside doing better things than watching TV during the most beautiful time of year in most of the country. Fear the Walking Dead premiered on August 23, 2015 and wrapped up its six-episode debut on October 4. Introducing this in August was a big mistake. AMC should have waited for the winter break between parts one and two of the new season to introduce Fear the Walking Dead. What’s done is done.
The negative criticisms take The Walking Dead franchise way too seriously. Many of the criticisms of Fear the Walking Dead are from fans of The Walking Dead and popped up weekly, failing to appreciate the full story. It’s as if the fan base turned into expert critics, armed themselves with Michonne’s machete, and made Swiss cheese of the premise poking holes at every opportunity. Folks, it’s a separate story altogether. It’s written so both current and new fans can enjoy the show. If you want to compare something to the previous five seasons of The Walking Dead, tune in for season six which premieres on October 11, 2015.
Be prepared to accept that you will know more than the characters. If you watch The Walking Dead, understand that the new characters are behind the 8-ball when it comes to understanding the world falling apart around them. Yes, some characters are naive and slow on the uptake. Yes, some characters won’t survive unless they make some serious adjustments to how they think. Take a step back and remember you’re watching a show about the zombie apocalypse! I know it’s a stretch, but try suspending disbelief just one inch further than you already are. It’s a character drama. It’s about character development. Each character is new and has a unique story, but they all have to realize the their new reality, something most of the characters in the original did before we were introduced to them.
It’s a slow burn at first. How many dead people do you encounter on a daily basis? None? Exactly. That’s why this story develops at the pace it does and why the initial reviews were quick and impatient. What makes Fear the Walking Dead interesting is the fact that these people don’t know what’s going on. The new characters learn bits and pieces as they experience what they can’t explain or comprehend. The writers do a fantastic job tying current, real life events (such as trigger happy police officers and social media) into their storytelling. This is why one of the main characters is a heroin addict who sees, in the opening scene of the series, what he cannot convince anyone is true.
Fear the Walking Dead improved episode after episode. The writers had to go from zero to 60 in six hours and I’m thoroughly enjoying the pre-apocalyptic perspective of Fear the Walking Dead. I cannot wait to see where this story goes in season two. By its finale, the characters in Fear the Walking Dead realize the world, as they knew it, is over. If you can accept not every episode is a chaotic blood bath of corpses chasing future corpses, give it a shot.
What’s next? Next weekend, the sixth season of The Walking Dead premieres on AMC. I, like millions of fans, will tune in to see what’s in store for the characters we’ve come to know and love over a relatively short period of time. Fear the Walking Dead is a solid companion to the original series and you have plenty of time to catch up on your own time. There have been rumors of character cross over in the far future, but I can’t say for certain.
For me, the show is less about the zombie apocalypse and more about the psychology of the people. We, as viewers, witness the characters evolve from who they were into who they need to be to survive often leaving the viewer with the moral question, “What would you have done?”
Prior to The Walking Dead, the last zombie thing I remember watching was the making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I was never a big fan of the genre and The Walking Dead was not a show I expected to watch, much less like. I tuned in just before season three and binge watched to catch up and I was hooked.
With Halloween fast approaching, Fear the Walking Dead is a good substitute for watching the seasonal scary movies you have seen multiple times…or the depressing election coverage which will occupy our collective conscience for another 13 months.
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