When The Walking Dead debuted in 2010, few would have predicted it would become one of the most successful TV series airing today. But the series not only found an audience, it found a huge one – turning it into a massive international hit.
When The Walking Dead returns for Season 8 on October 22nd, it will kick off with a season premiere that also serves as the show’s 100th episode. During a visit to the Atlanta set of the series, while episode 100 was being filmed, we got to see a couple of different scenes being filmed – scenes that would turn out to be the ones that bookend the Season 8 trailer that debuted during San Diego Comic-Con.
In the first, Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) finds himself in big trouble, as he's confronted by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who warns Gabriel he better have his “s**tin’ pants” on. The other scene certainly raised eyebrows, as it found Rick (Andrew Lincoln) looking many years older. Rick wasn’t the only character in that scene, but for now, we’ll stay quiet on who else he was interacting with…
Very good at keeping secrets at this point, The Walking Dead producers and cast we spoke to on set were keeping mum on the specifics of what we’d seen them filming and what the larger implications could be. But they did discuss what it meant for the show to reach its 100th episode, what it’s like seeing how popular it is with fans – and for those who’ve joined the show through the years, what it’s like becoming a part of that -- and how Season 8 will be a particularly huge one for the series, as we go into a storyline referred to as “All Out War.”
In the scheme of things, not many TV series make it to episode 100 - and that number drops very low for scripted series that originated on cable. That being the case, The Walking Dead crew all expressed a lot of gratitude about reaching this milestone, especially considering few could have guessed it would occur when the show began.
Norman Reedus (“Daryl Dixon”): "Not just as a show but me as a character, I never knew I was going to be around this long. I didn’t know the show was going to be around this long, to be honest. Yeah, it’s great. We’ve fought really hard to make this show what it is. It could have gone south so easily, we thought from the beginning - with zombies and samurai swords and crossbows and all that s**t. We’ve fought really hard to keep it as real as possible. Every year, we see a new guard of people come in and enjoy the show. And I think some of us old schoolers work really hard to keep that train on the tracks."
Lennie James (“Morgan Jones”): "When I did the first episode, we had no idea what the show was going to be. We didn’t even know that there was going to be a second season. The conversation I remember having with Gale [Anne Hurd], actually, was we didn’t know if we’re going to get a second season. Everything was vampires, we were coming in and not being vampires. It wasn’t that people weren’t confident in what we were doing or wasn’t committed to what we were doing, or passionate about it or have faith in it. It’s just that there was no guarantee. AMC wasn’t what AMC became. No one was in the position that they now are where they can look back and go, 'Yes, of course, we knew.' They didn’t have any bloody idea, and if they say they did, they’re lying."
Josh McDermitt (“Eugune Porter”): "Not a lot of shows get to episode 100. This is exciting. The last show I was on only got to episode twenty... To get to episode 100, on a show that isn’t 22 episodes every season, is a feat. The fact that people are still coming back and watching it is exciting. I was a huge fan of the show before I started working on it so to be a part of it at this milestone is really special. I’m blessed man. It’s kind of awesome."
Considering it also doubles as the season premiere, one would expect the 100th episode of The Walking Dead to go big. And that is the case… but it wasn’t always the intention.
Scott Gimple (Executive Producer): "It’s funny, I was actually in some ways trying to make it a little smaller, a little more intimate. I made the mistake of telling Greg [Nicotero, who directed the premiere], so when they got the script they were horrified not to see small and intimate, but 'How are we going to do this in nine days?' I was trying to sort of counter the pressure and go in a different direction, but there’s a certain pull to the story and to the characters and it got very big, very quickly. In a bit of a different way, I will say…"
McDermitt: "Episode 100 is huge in and of itself. It’s massive. We always say that for whatever premiere or finale, whether it’s mid-season or otherwise. We go 'It’s big,' but after a while it sounds like we’re saying the same thing over and over again. But as I read this script I’m thinking 'I gotta read that again!' to comprehend everything. It’s a big, big episode, and that’s exciting. The script does the century mark justice and it’s exciting to go to war. I don’t think that’s a secret. We started to see that start in episode sixteen of last year. I just think there are probably going to be other big milestone events from the comics that play out in the series, as it’s always been... But I’m not going to discuss whether or not any of those are contained within this episode."
100th episodes are often used to reflect on the history of a TV series, and The Walking Dead will indeed do this as well.
Hurd: "There will be Easter eggs for sure, absolutely. Especially for the fans who may know the show almost as well, if not better, than we do. They will definitely appreciate quite a few of those."
Greg Nicotero (Executive Producer/Director): "I think one of the things that’s the most exciting about the episode is every once in awhile we like to remember where the show came from and I just think it’s kind of like the opportunity to thank our fans and thank our viewers for staying with us for so long. Having the opportunity to have been on the air for seven seasons, it’s a great opportunity to go back and pay tribute to what makes the show great.
"There will be some moments that people who have watched the show from the beginning will see and be like “Oh, okay I see what they’re doing here” by paying tribute to specific moments over the last seven years. But we’re always cautious about that because you don’t want to take people out of it. There are two or three sequences in the first episode that I was particularly excited about doing that people will instantly recognize. That’s an instance where it’s okay that they recognize exactly where it’s from because we want them to remember that particular moment… Some might be a little more obvious and some might be super subtle."
Gimple: "In a lot of ways, this whole season [has] direct references to the past stories. You know, some visuals that are carbon copies of earlier visuals. It very much has to do with the cumulative nature of the story, of where the story is now. The history of the show is, I’ll just say, weighing upon each character or in some ways. You see how it’s made them who they are or in other ways how they might be fighting that history.. In that first episode and kind of the whole season."
The Walking Dead is one of the most popular shows in the world and when the cast makes a Comic-Con appearance, they are treated like rock stars.
Reedus: "It’s funny on this show because it’s such a big show, and if you’ve been around for a while, you see that influence. Almost every actor I’ve seen on this show gets sucked into that. And their head goes like this... [mimes a head expanding]. And sometimes it comes back down and they get over it. It’s hard to have that thrown at you and have it not affect you in some way. I’m sure it’s happened to me as well, but once you take that for what it is and you don’t let it get to you, it just makes you focus more. I’ve always said the old school actors on this show are the best employees of this show because they’ve dealt with fame and the money and the pressure and the whatever. And now their only interest is making the best show possible.You always get gold with those people, all the time, when sometimes you have to find it with the new guys because they get wrapped up in it. It’s a total natural thing because it is super overwhelming and the level of that change is different with different actors on the show. It’s very strange. It’s a very weird thing."
Tom Payne (“Paul ‘Jesus’ Rovia”): "I had an ease into it. My first encounter with the fan thing was the Madison Square Garden premiere for Season 6. And I sat on the floor with my girlfriend and no one knew who I was. And I looked at everyone getting up on stage and all the screaming fans and I s**t my pants. I was like 'Oh god, this is really scary, f**k.' And I’d already shot all my stuff at that point. It was just this sense of “I’m going to lose something I’m never going to get back.” It’s like you get everything you ever wanted and you go 'Why did I actually want this?' Also, on this show it’s to a scale you can never imagine .You can be on a TV show and certain people will recognize you. But this TV show is everyone, worldwide. I asked Andrew [Lincoln] if there’s anywhere in the world he can go where he doesn’t get recognized. And he said no. That’s a very strange thing! …This show is so crazy. I can’t believe that everyone watches it. Families watch it together. I get bros coming up to me and teenage girls. It’s a fun ride. Let’s see how long it’ll last."
Katelyn Nacon ("Enid"): "My life changed overnight. I remember my role leaked before I even started on the episode or started working. I had to start a professional Instagram right away. I got tons of followers and I was like oh my gosh, they didn’t even know if I was on the show yet. It’s crazy to see how committed the fans are and how pumped they are. It runs through their blood. It’s a lifestyle for them. It was definitely a little intimidating going into a huge show. I’ve done things before but this was my first really, really big thing and to have it be so impactful to people and in their lives is pretty crazy and a little intimidating. I’ve gotten a little used to it now. It’s still going to take it a while. I feel like I’ve only been on the show for a week even though it’s been a few years."
The Walking Dead: Season 8 premieres October 22nd on AMC.
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