Showrunner Angela Kang reveals how COVID led The Walking Dead to change up its season 10 finale and season 11 plans. AMC’s zombie drama is all about the effects on human civilization of a mysterious plague, but unfortunately fiction somewhat became reality in 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, which affected The Walking Dead along with many another TV show and movie.
Coronavirus in fact hit while TWD was in the middle of airing its tenth season, and unfortunately post-production on the season finale had to be shut down due to restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the virus. After months of delays, that finale was finally delivered this weekend, letting fans finally see the resolution of several storylines including the Whisperer War. But what was resolved in the finale was ultimately not as important as what was set up, as the show brought back familiar characters while introducing what appears to be a whole new and menacing threat.
But as it turns out the finale episode fans saw was not entirely what TWD showrunner Angela Kang and her crew originally had in mind. As Kang revealed to media recently (via Digital Spy), changes had to be made in order to work within the new restrictions imposed by COVID, including big adjustments to how the episode leads into Walking Dead season 11. Indeed, these adjustments include six “bridge” episodes that in essence extend season 10. As Kang explained:
"We were deep into writing season 11 and, you know, we'd been planning a big season opener, as we always do, with hundreds of zombie extras and people, just smashed up against each other's faces. It became really clear that it was not really feasible, smart or responsible to shoot that right away, in the midst of everything that's going on. So the studio asked us to pivot to doing some stories that could extend out of season 10 and bridge us between what had been our planned finale and where we want to pick up next season."
Kang further explained that because COVID halted plans to produce the show’s normal big, epic zombie-filled opener, the six bridge episodes will be smaller and more intimate, involving fewer actors. By necessity then, the episodes will be more character-oriented and less dependent on action, a “challenge” in Kang’s own words. For her part, Maggie Rhee actress Lauren Cohan spoke positively of tackling this challenge, indicating that one of the bridge episodes will focus on her character. Cohan said, "I was like, 'OK, this is amazing'. These COVID restrictions are creating really scary episodes. It's very, very, very detailed. I'm on the verge of spoiling something, but yeah, it's so great."
After Maggie’s return in the altered season 10 finale, it seems the new run of stripped-down episodes will immediately pick up her story, which is great news for fans who missed Cohan’s presence on the show since she went away in season 9. Overall, the finale managed to deliver a fair amount of climactic action, including Daryl’s big last showdown with Beta, but it did indeed feel slightly less epic than expected, apparently due to the pivot Kang and company were forced to do as they embark on producing new episodes under various restrictions. It remains to be seen if The Walking Dead will be helped by being forced to go small, but considering the number of cancellations and delays that have happened as a result of COVID, the fact that the show gets to continue at all is something to be thankful for.
Source: Digital Spy
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