AMC has announced that they have partnered with Twitch to create The Walking Dead Universe channel. This channel will serve as the main place for fans to interract in real time from the start, to finish. What is more exciting, is that it will be done every sunday starting at 7:30pm and it will continue untill midnight.
This was created so Twitch and AMC will have one central place for The Walking Dead fans to come together and talk about the latest news and episodes under one platform that is outside of Twitter and Instagram.
The schedule is the following as AMC stated on the press release:
7:30pm Recapping Dead Pre-Show – Hosts dive into recaps of the previous week’s episode, explore theories and give their best predictions and speculations before the new episode premieres on television.
9:00pm Live Watch Party – During the episode, TWDUniverse will keep streaming on Twitch to create a live second screen experience for new episodes in The Walking Dead Universe with behind-the-scenes info pop-ups, interactions from the community and live host reactions.
11:00pm After Show – Following the premiere of Talking Dead, fans can continue the discussion in a more informal, interactive space on Twitch, taking a deeper dive into the new episodes.
With four hours of content and a place for everyone to join and talk about everything with The Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead, and Walking Dead: World Beyond, this is too good to pass up. Twitch has brought people together and The Walking Dead has too and with these two together, the best that will come out of it is a growing community!
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The Alliance for Women in Media has held their 2020 edition of The Gracies Awards virtually this year as they reconize the work and dedication of women in the television and entertainment industry. The Gracies has been honoring women for over 20 years and this year, former The Walking Dead star Danai Gurira has won the award of the Best Actress in a Lead Drama.
Danai Gurira has played as Michonne on The Walking Dead from season 3, to her exit on season 10. Danai has left many memorable memories as Michonne ever since her entrance on the show and her performance on season 10 has been critically acclaimed by the fans and critics.
When Danai had her time to give her acceptance speech for the award, she said this on the video below:
“I am very blessed to be able to play as Michonne. I loved her and I love the show and the beautiful family that I got from the experience. This is a serious blessing to have it on top of all of that. Thank you so much to The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation which is a very important thing. So I defently and deeply appreciate this. Thanks so much.”
#DanaiGurira got her 2020 Gracies award for Actress in a Lead Role Drama The Walking Dead as Queen of the Apocalypse #MichonneGrimes The Gracies recognize exemplary programming created by, for, and about women in radio, television, cable, and interactive media. pic.twitter.com/hrviksm3Ir
Danai Gurira has also had highly praised roles within the last few years such as Tupac Shakur’s mother Afeni Shakur on All Eyez on Me, Okoye on Marvel’s Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. In 2020, it was announced that Danai will be the executive producer of HBO’s Americanah which is based on the 2013 novel of the same name.
It will be great to see what the future holds for Danai Gurira and she will always be a central member of The Walking Dead family!
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Ross Marquand as Aaron, ,Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter, Dan Fogler as Luke – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
For ten years, The Walking Dead has graced our screens with our favorite characters, moments, stories, and even the walkers itself. Within those ten years, we got two spinoff shows (Fear The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond), video games, conventions, and more content of The Walking Dead franchise for the fans. But today, is the day that we all did not want to imagine happen.
AMC announced that the upcoming 11th season of The Walking Dead will be the final season. For this season, it will be 24 episodes instead of the normal 16 episodes. That is with the exception of the 10th season in which it will have six additional episodes after the season finale airs on October 4th. The 11th season will end sometime in 2022.
The other news that came with that announcement, is that fan favorite characters Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) will have their own spinoff series focusing on the characters which will premiere in 2023.
The Walking Dead:World Beyond is stated to last for two seasons and it is also supposed to lead up to the upcoming Rick Grimes films. Fear The Walking Dead’s first half of the sixth season will begin airing on October 11th and as of right now, there is no word if we will have a seventh season.
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Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier – The Walking Dead _ Season 10 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
A few months ago, I decided to do some date ideas for Daryl and Connie since it was Valentine’s Day. The fanbase would like to see them two get together to be a couple and I can see why. But it is also to note that there are fans of Daryl and Carol that would like to see these two in a relationship as well due to the fact that these two have been seen together for nearly a decade on the show and I can also understand this side too due to the history that Carol and Daryl had. This is also something I am curious about as well as these two characters really do understand eachother inside and outside as their bonds were build up from the moment they meet, to right now at this current state. Now what would happen if these two had a date? Today, I am going to come up with date ideas between Carol and Daryl.
First, I have to think of how this would be established? Who would actually ask the question of a date in the apoclapse. I think I would lean towards Carol since she can really open Daryl up for a discussion and we have seen that in the past. But what would the conversation be like? Maybe the two are already talking about something else alone and she brings up the date idea. Daryl might be taken off guard at first, but he will think it is not a bad idea at all. Carol is very convincing when she speaks and Daryl has cared for her all these years so it would make sense for these two to have a date. Now that it is established, here are some date ideas I have thought of.
A Boat Ride
I chose this because not only would these two enjoy a good time in the sea, but Carol could also show Daryl where the island she was on when she left. That would also be a great time for them two to bond during this journey to their private island, and maybe catch some fish along the way too. Plus, Carol and Daryl would not have to worry about any walkers as this would be a peaceful ride.
Building Dog a Doghouse
I am a dog lover so the thought of Carol and Daryl building a doghouse for Dog would be cute. There are a lot of wood and tools at Alexandria and it could be built at the back of Daryl’s house. Whether if Dog actually stays in that house would be another question, but I am pretty sure that Carol would also come up good designs of what colors the doghouse would have and Daryl would come up with the interior look as well.
Double Date with Rick Grimes and Michonne
Although Rick Grimes was saved by Jadis, and Michonne went out to find him, What if after Rick and Michonne reunites, they have a double date with Carol and Daryl. And the timeline could match up perfectly at The Commonwealth, or one of the CRM communities since they are heavily guarded. It would be normal life over there so Daryl and Carol would be fine having a double date with Rick and Michonne as they all can catch up and do activities at one of these communities without worrying about the dead coming. Plus, Carol and Daryl would most likely talk about the double date after it is over when they are alone.
A Photoshoot
I did not forget that Alexandria has a camera since Rick took that polaroid camera from The Saviors. Why not put it to use and I believe The Princess would set this up since that would match her personality. She can even be the costume designer for this photo shoot between Carol and Daryl. Plus, this would the opportunity for Carol to tell Daryl to smile on camera and he would do it. Especially if they both have on really funny costumes. Plus, Dog would be in this shoot too!
Motorcycle Race
Remember that episode of Ride With Norman Reedus when it was him and Melissa McBride overseas? Why not bring elements of that episode, to this date as not only Daryl would teach Carol how to ride a motorcycle, but they can also have a fun race with it. Maybe after they use motorcycles, they can switch to horses. A race from one end of The Hilltop, to the other end would be fun as both of their competitive side would come out.
A Movie at The Kingdom
I know, That festival did more damage than good back in season 9. But for this case, The festival never happened. Daryl would surprise Carol on a movie date and whatever they will watch will be fine since nobody has seen any movies or television since before the apoclapse happened. And it would be a private screening so they can both be alone in that theater until the movie ends. Plus, no way would Alpha disguise herself since The Kingdom soldiers will be guarding the front and back door.
What do you think of these ideas? Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content.
Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon; group – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
AMC’s The Walking Dead has been on the air for ten years now. And within those ten years, not once was any of the cast nominated for The Emmys. I know it is easy to say that they all have won awards from different award shows and I am not disputing that at all. But the talk is always about The Emmys when it comes to the mainstream attention of award ceremonies and year after year, The Walking Dead gets snubbed for unknown reasons.
There are a few years where they are nominated for Outstanding Special Visual Effects categories, as well as Outstanding Sound Editing. But the focus on these awards have to be put on the cast. We would have thought that The Walking Dead would have at least had more than one nomination per year. But that always go to the shows like Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, etc. Those are really good shows, but the cast on those shows are not as diverse as The Walking Dead.
Andrew Lincoln who stars as Rick Grimes, has been on the show for nine seasons. He has had Emmy worth performance scenes during his time on The Walking Dead. The first I can remember is way back in season 4 of the show where he tried to convince The Governor to not take over The Prison, and to not kill Hershel. If those judges in that council room did not feel that sadness during that scene, then I do not know what were they thinking at the time. Another scene where I believe Andrew Lincoln should have gotten an Emmy for is his breaking moment the entire time when Negan made his introduction. That esculated even further on the season 7 premiere when Negan broke Rick Grimes infront of everyone. The tip of the iceberg here, is when Negan tried to force Rick Grimes to chop off Carl Grimes’ arm off and while Rick was crying and pleading for Negan to stop this, a snot bubble came out of Rick Grimes’ nose on contact, and without the use of CGI. Andrew Lincoln is a great actor and he knows how to get a reaction out of the viewer in particular scenes whether if he is speaking, or not.
I will also bring up Melissa McBride. She has been on the show as long as Andrew was and she is still on The Walking Dead as she is here for her tenth season. This season alone, Carol has been the center of this season due to her feud with Alpha that has lasted for most of the season. But it is not just the feud that put the spotlight on Carol, it was also everything that surrounded it too and how Carol had to go through a rocky road to overcome the damage Alpha and The Whisperers inflicted on Carol. Melissa McBride had a lot of good scenes that she acted out this season. Some of my favorites were when she interrogated that Whisperer after he spit his food on her, Her conversation with Daryl on “Lines We Cross”, her conversation with Kelly, and also with Lydia.
But it was more than that too as Melissa McBride’s potential has really risen after the second season of The Walking Dead as she did great Emmy worth performances on earlier season episodes such as “The Grove”, “The Same Boat”, “Wildfire”, “Cherokee Rose”, and even “The Well.” Each season, Melissa McBride has broght in something different out of Carol and Carol is a very good and more complexed than her comic book counterpart. Carol can just be in one room talking with any of the characters, and you will get more out of her than you usually would with other characters.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays as Negan, should have recieved a lot of nominations from The Emmy’s the second he appeared on screen. I know that there are fans that do not like Negan, but Negan really fits Morgan and I could not see anyone else playing as him. From his debut until season 8, he was very charismatic, and also dangerous. But from season 9 until recently, Negan has went a complete change and showed his genuine side as he seeks his redemption. You do not see that often from major television villians in that scale. Of course, we do not have to forgive what Negan done, but Jeffrey Dean Morgan brought that character to life. He has had many great performances as Negan, but my favorite has to be the season 7 premiere, and also the season 9 finale. On those two episodes, it is night and day to see Negan as he was then as a ruthless leader, to the caring person he became at the end of season 9.
Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
Norman Reedus is another person I would have considered for a nomination of an Emmy especially for his work from season 9, to current. Norman Reedus’ performance on the last two seasons has been the best for the Daryl character. Daryl is still a badass, but I felt that these last two seasons, we finally got more of a human side of Daryl and I honestly wanted to see that from Daryl for a while. While Norman and Melissa had great scenes together for this entire decade and built a chemistry, he has also built a great chemistry with Lauren Ridloff, Cassady McClincy, and Cailey Flemming these past two seasons and his chemistry with all of those names really shines on screen whether if it is good momnents, or scary-situational moments. Even though Daryl was given more words than ever these last two seasons, Norman Reedus made sure those lines have substance when he acted out those lines.
I know that there are many other actors that (In my opinion) deserves an Emmy nomination because this show brings out the best out of the cast. You cannot find a strong cast like this on The Walking Dead anywhere else. I know for sure that The Emmys is very selective and we will never know the answer why, but The Walking Dead will never be overlooked in the eyes of the fans that care about the franchise. It is just a shame that the powers that be will never reconize the cast for any consideration to be part of The Emmys.
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This year’s edition of San Diego Comic Con had to be canceled due to the current pandemic. Not only that was canceled, The Walking Dead had to delay the airdate of the season finale, delay the premiere of World Beyond, and halt the filming of Fear The Walking Dead. What was supposed to be 42 straight weeks of content of The Walking Dead universe, turned upside down due to the pandemic. But luckily, fans got a chance to see the panels of all three shows in the comfort of their own homes as San Diego Comic Con went virtual for the first time in it’s 50 year history. Today, I will give my recap and thoughts of the two panels as I will also make a seperate article of The Walking Dead: World Beyond panel.
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD
Showrunners and executive producers Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, and cast members Lennie James, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Colman Domingo, all were on the panel today to talk about the first half of the sixth season. The panel was broken into two groups as Chris Hardwhick said that at the start of the panel. Also, the premiere of the sixth season will be on Sunday October 11th, 2020. They then begin to talk about the season 5 finale as Chris brought up the memories of the last ten minutes of the episode. We were then given a new trailer of the sixth season. as well. Andrew talked about Morgan’s fate. Ian also clarified that something is going on with Morgan since he is seen with red eyes in the trailer. Lennie then talked about shooting those scenes with Colby Minifie (Virginia) and praised her work as a villian since he believes that she is very unerving. Lennie also teased that Virginia runs more than one group and that we will see that during the sixth season.
Scott Gimple also teased that we will see more dimensions to Virginia this season. Colman talked about the current state of Strand and what can we expect from him. Then, the conversation shifted to Alycia as she feels that Alicia does not trust anyone but Strand at the moment since she has known him the longest. Colman also believes that Strand should be trusted as he made a promise to Madison to keep her safe. Andrew talked about how the shutdown affected the filming process and he stated that they were halfway finished with the first half and that the entire season has been written already. He did also say that when it is safe, they will begin filming the back half of the sixth season.
The conversation then lead to Morgan’s bond with Grace as a fan asked if Lennie would see Morgan in love with Grace. Lennie feels that Morgan is still locked down to his wife, but he could open up to Grace. But Lennie is interested to see how their bond will develop. Isabelle, who is part of CRM was brought up and Scott Gimple said that there will be more story with her and that there is a chance that we will see more of her on the show. Ian was then asked about his mindset going into season six and Ian said that Virginia is in control of everyone and how it will affect all of the characters. He also said that they all will be tested in ways that they have not before and how they will fit in Virginia’s world, and how will they react under these circumstances. The episodes will be an anthology structure and this season will be darker than the previous seasons.
Colman talked about the episode he directed as he stated that it featured a number of actors on the show as he sounded very excited about the episode he directed. Lennie James also directed an episode for the first time and Lennie loved the experience. Lennie also said that he meet the crew, riggers, and costume designers and was also given a fantastic episode to direct. The morning of the first episode he directed, Lennie said that he had a fun text exchange between himself and Colman. He also praised the crew that supported him and is not sure if he will ever direct again, but would be open to doing it again. The last important bit is the conversation is Scott Gimple was asked if there was a time jump during season 6 and he said that not only that there will be one, there will be multiple time jumps during the season. Also, Ian could not comment if that musical episode would happen on this season.
The second half of the group was Ruben Blades, Karen David, Danay Garcia, Jenna Elfman while Scott Gimple, Ian, and Andrew stayed. Danay talked about what can we expect from Luciana during this season. She also talked about the process of putting on the oil makeup when they were filming at the oilfield. Funny line from Karen David as she said that if you get a zit on the show, they celebrate. The Living Dead would also be the name if there was a band. Karen also talked about her reaction to Grace being pregnant as she feels that she has done a lot for Morgan before she found out. She wonders of Grace will be alive to see her child’s first birthday due to the nature of the apoclapse.
Jenna brought up an interesting point as June and John are seperated again. Jenna believes that they will have faith to see eachother again and that June is strong enough to not let Virginia break her at all. Chris brings up the status of Dwight and Sherry and Ian told him that he cannot say much about these two. He also said that he and Andrew were fans of Dwight and that he is a much different person now than he was when he was with The Saviors. Scott Gimple stated that there will be new characters coming in season six and one of them, will be Virginia’s sister named Dakota. Gimple also said that we will see a whole other side of Virginia too because of Dakota. Ruban said that he really misses being on the set because of the daily contact, and talking with everyone. He also misses Skidmark. The last few minutes were dedicated to a few fan questions and the funniest one, is if Lucianna would replace her wounded arm like Merle did and Danay said that she would replace it with a gun.
THE WALKING DEAD
Just like Fear The Walking Dead, this panel was split in two groups. The announcement of the airdate of the season finale has been revealed as it will air on October 4th, 2020. We were also shown a sneak peak of the Finale. The panel opens as Angela Kang, Scott Gimple, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Khary Payton, Greg Nicotero and Ross Marquand are the first group. Angela talked about beta being driven by the mass amount of walkers and Nicotero talked about how excited he was directing the episode along with the fact that the horde is closing in on the group. Norman Reedus talked about Daryl’s arc of the season and how Michonne’s departure, Alpha, Judith, and Carol has affected him. Norman was asked if Daryl would want a rematch with Beta and he said that Beta is way too tall for a rematch. Even Khary said that people do not realize how tall he is. Melissa talked about Carol’s state of mind as Carol has had a journey during this season that also negativity affected her friendship with everyone during this season. She also said that Carol’s conversation with Kelly also really helped too and that her relationship with Daryl has not been good towards the end of this season.
Khary Payton talked about Ezekiel’s current health as he feels that Ezekiel thinks that his time is coming up due to the cancer that is in him. Khary also said that the cancer may give him hope since it has not stopped him from moving forward. Then, we get to Ross Marquand as he talked about Aaron and Alden meeting the masked character too and how it reminded him of when the group first meet Michonne. Ross also wants Aaron to find a new love interest in the future. Melissa McBride said that she was excited working with Jeffrey Dean Morgan for the first time. Greg Nicotero talked about the process of creating that cancer lump for Ezekiel and I thought that it was interesting to see and hear how he did it. This part of the panel ends as it was announced that six additional episodes after the finale will air (that is part of season 10) sometime in 2021.
The panel then switched to the second group as Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Josh McDermitt, Seth Gilliam, and Paola Lourazo as Lauren first talked about Maggie returning to The Walking Dead. Lauren also said that it felt like she has never really left at all. Angela Kang then talked about the dynamic of Negan and Maggie since Maggie thought that Negan was still in the jail. It was funny to hear that Jeffrey Dean Morgan say that Negan saved a lot of her friends. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was asked how would he feel if he seen Hershel Jr. and Morgan said that Maggie might see a different side of Negan since Negan also has a bond with Judith.
The unfortunate news also came as it was announced that season 11 will be delayed to 2021. Then Seth Gilliam talked about Gabriel and how different he is now compared to then since he is the leader of the counsel. He also reacted to Carol letting Negan out of the jail. Josh was asked what Eugene sees different with Stephanie that he has not seen with Rosita. Josh joked that he has not actually seen her yet, but then Seth asked Josh about their connection and Josh ran down their connection and their bond. He also thinks that Rosita and Eugene are good as friends, and that Eugene and Stephanie are building a foundation. Paola was aked about her reaction to the community’s highly praised reception of The Princess. Paola also said that she would love to see Princess interract with Negan since both of the characters are very similar. She also said that her favorite character is Carol.
Angela then talked about the way some scenes were filmed and how challenging it was. It was funny to hear Jeffrey Dean Morgan to respond to the question about getting a new weapon and calling it “Rick” as Morgan believes that Negan has moved passed on from it. Jeffrey Dean Morgan also stated that the scene from the comics of Lucille being broken will not happen on the show.
Scott Gimple said that he would create a pre-apoclapse spinoff with Glenn as he misses working with Steven Yuen and that it would be very funny. Angela then talked about the huge diverse cast of The Walking Dead which also includes the people that work behind the scenes. She also praised Greg Nicotero for his work on this episode and teased The Commonwealth group as well as she hypes up the season finale. The panel ends as Chris gives the dates of The Walking Dead season 10 finale, World Beyond’s airdate, and Talking Dead right after both episodes.
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Paola Lazaro as Princess- The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 15 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
Earlier this year, the season 10 finale of The Walking Dead has been delayed until the end of the year due to the current pandemic. It was supposed to air alongside of the debut of The Walking Dead: World Beyond but that has also been delayed too. The pandemic prevented the post-production of the episode to be finished in time of the premiere of the episode. Fans have waited for months for any news of the airdate and today, we finally got an answer.
During the San Diego Comic Con at Home panel of The Walking Dead, showrunner Angela Kang revealed the airdate of the season finale titled “A Certain Doom.” The episode will air on October 4th, 2020. This is much sooner than we thought and it is great news that we will see the current season conclude. Angela Kang and the rest of the cast that was on that panel gave a few details about the episode and we even got a sneak preview of the episode as well along with what can we look forward to on the next season when they start filming season 11.
Also during the Fear The Walking Dead panel, the premiere date has been revealed as it will premiere on October 11th, 2020. In addition, six additional episodes of Season 10 will also air in early 2021!
Are you excited for the airdate of the final episode? Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com
Margot Bingham has joined The Walking Dead as she will play as Stephanie from the comic book series. Although only her voice was heard during the tenth season, she will make her on screen debut on the next season of The Walking Dead. Stephanie is a key member of the large community The Commonwealth in the comic book series and it is because of her, Eugene (Josh McDermitt) lead a few members of the group to The Commonwealth.
Once at The Commonwealth in the comic book series, Stephanie and Eugene build a bond and eventually they become a couple. It will be interesting to see if the television series will follow the same story that was adapted from the source material. With Margot Bingham on the cast, she can bring new life to the character and flesh out her backstory more as well. The Walking Dead has done this with major and minor characters that did not have a backstory. The most recent example was back in season 9 when Alpha (Samantha Morton) got her own backstory so the same could happen for Stephanie.
Margot is also best known for her work and appearances on Blue Bloods, New Amsterdam, and most recently, Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It.
The Walking Dead will also have a panel during San Diego Comic Con at Home this Friday afternoon at 1:00pm PT/4:00pm EST as it will be hosted by Talking Dead’s Chris Hardwick and will feature Scott M. Gimple, Showrunner Angela Kang, Greg Nicotero, and cast members Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Melissa McBride, Josh McDermitt, Ross Marquand, Paola Lazaro, and Lauren Cohan who is returning to the series. The panel will be streamed on the official Comic Con YouTube Channel.
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This year, San Diego Coimic Con will offer a unique experience for The Walking Dead fans as all of their scheduled panels will be online and free to view on the week of SDCC 2020 @Home. This happened due to the current pandemic that prevented the actual event to have a massive gathering. Details and the times of each panel have been revealed today as you can see the information below.
Friday July 24th, 12:00PM-1:00 PM
Fear the Walking Dead will present a panel for the series’ upcoming sixth season, premiering later this year. Moderated by Chris Hardwick, the panel will feature TWDU chief content officer Scott M. Gimple, showrunners and executive producers Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, and cast members Lennie James, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Colman Domingo, Danay Garcia, Karen David, Jenna Elfman, and Rubén Blades. Season six of Fear the Walking Dead explores what has become of the unlikely family once united by a mission to help those in need. After being torn apart by Virginia (Colby Minifie) and her Pioneers, the group is now dispersed across her far-reaching settlements. Morgan’s (James) last message at the end of season five implored the group to “Just Live” and this season we’ll see what that means to each of them. Some will find the stability and opportunity within Virginia’s communities to be intriguing, some will sink into darkness, while others will fight back against what has been forced upon them. Life behind Virginia’s walls will test each and every one of them in different ways, forcing them to define who they are in this new world.
Friday July 24th, 1:00PM- 2:00PM
The Walking Dead will make its 11th San Diego Comic-Con appearance with a panel spotlighting “A Certain Doom, ” which will air as a standalone episode later this year. Moderated by Chris Hardwick (Talking Dead), the panel will feature TWDU chief content officer Scott M. Gimple, showrunner and executive producer Angela Kang, executive producer Greg Nicotero, who directed the episode, and cast members Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Josh McDermitt, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand, Khary Payton, and Paola Lazaro. In The Walking Dead episode 1016, “A Certain Doom, ” Beta engages the final battle of the Whisperer War.
Friday July 24th, 2:00PM-3:00PM
The Walking Dead: World Beyond makes its Comic-Con International debut as the third series in wildly successful The Walking Dead Universe. Moderated by Chris Hardwick, the series’ panel will feature TWDU chief content officer Scott M. Gimple, showrunner and executive producer Matt Negrete and cast members Aliyah Royale, Alexa Mansour, Hal Cumpston, Nicholas Cantu, Nico Tortorella, Julia Ormond, and Joe Holt.The Walking Dead: World Beyond delves into a new mythology and story that follows the first generation raised in a surviving civilization of the post-apocalyptic world. Two sisters along with two friends leave a place of safety and comfort to brave dangers, known and unknown, living and undead on an important quest. Pursued by those who wish to protect them and those who wish to harm them, a tale of growing up and transformation unfurls across dangerous terrain, challenging everything they know about the world, themselves and each other. Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. But all of them will find the truths they seek.
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Kailynn Heide is a graphic designer based out of Minnesota. She is known for her work of The Walking Dead related print designs. Ever since she started her profession, her work was universally revieved positive in the community of The Walking Dead, and even some of the talent of the show as well. I recently got the chance to intervew Kailynn as we talked about that, along with her passion for graphic design, and getting to know more about Kailynn in this exclusive interview.
First, I would like to get to know more about you and I believe your fans and supporters would love to hear your story too. Where did you grow up? And what were some of your earliest childhood memories?
KH: “Of course! I grew up in Pillager, which is a very small town in central Minnesota (the population is around 500 people)! One of my earliest memories growing up was losing my first tooth. I was in preschool at the time and we were all hanging out on the playground. I remember telling the teacher I had lost my tooth and I couldn’t find it. After some searching, we miraculously found it amongst the wood chips and it was placed into a small bag so I could bring it home and show my family!”
What were some early goals you wanted to accomplish before you decided to do graphic design?
KH: “Before I applied to the graphic design program, I wanted to familiarize myself with the field. To prepare, I was using apps and free programs on my family’s computer to develop my skills. I was also working on building my social media presence by sharing my edits/designs on Instagram and Twitter. I was a shy kid growing up, so I also began to work on my interpersonal skills. I firmly believe my self-confidence improved greatly once I discovered the TWD fandom. It was a relief to finally find people who I could be myself around and who shared a common interest.”
Was there any point that graphic design was challenging if you recall?
KH: “At my community college, the graphic design and videography programs were actually merged together. Because of that, my fellow graphic design classmates and I were required to take a few videography classes and vice versa. Although I did learn some new skills, I did find those classes to be somewhat strenuous. I have huge respect for anyone who works in that field because I learned firsthand just how much work goes into filming, editing and rendering any and all types of video.”
I have seen your work and I am amazed at how much effort you put into it. The fans also love your work too. How did it feel for you when your work started to get noticed in this way?
KH: “Thank you! To this day, the love and support I receive for my artwork blows me away. When I first discovered The Walking Dead and began making fan art to display my love for the show, I was stunned to see the amount of people who were showing interest in this hobby of mine I had only recently discovered. It wasn’t long before I realized this was something I wanted to do long-term.”
A lot of your work is based on The Walking Dead. When did you first hear of the series and was The Walking Dead your first choice on doing commissions for fans?
KH: “Unfortunately, I didn’t discover the series until season six. My favorite YouTuber had the episode “East” playing in the background of one of her videos and it caught my attention. I watched the episode that same night and immediately became hooked. I ended up binge-watching all six seasons within about three weeks after that. The first episode I actually watched live was the dreaded premiere of season seven. In regards to commissions, it wasn’t until this year that I really had anyone show any interest in wanting one. Because most of my followers are from the TWD fandom, I haven’t been surprised that a majority of the commissions are based on the show. I personally find the TWD commissions easier to do, only because I’m so familiar with the show and it’s characters.”
What is your favorite episode of the show, and your least favorite?
KH: “My favorite episode of the show would have to be “The Same Boat” from season six. My favorite character has always been Maggie and being able to see her and Carol’s badassery on full display was so satisfying to watch. It’s hard to choose my least favorite episode, but if I had to, it would probably be “Swear” from season seven. The episode just wasn’t very interesting to me.”
My favorite pieces of your work are the World Beyond and Jaws tributes. Do you have any personal favorites?
KH: “Oooh nice choices! My personal favorites would have to be the Lucille Lineup and Whiskey Cavalier tribute posters. Both were big hits in the fandoms and I am so unbelievably appreciative of all the love I received for those designs.”
What is your thought process when you select particular scenes on the show for you to work on your projects?
KH: “Before the commissions started flowing in, most of my pieces were based on my own personal favorite episodes and scenes from the show. Because my work is done in a minimalist style, I have to be careful with which scenes I choose and how I create the design so as to not make it too busy to the point of the design becoming unrecognizable.”
If any, have any of the cast or crew seen your work? If they did, what did they say?
KH: “You know it! The number of cast and crew members has grown quite long over the past few years, but there have been a few reactions that have stuck with me more than others. The first was when I was able to meet Lauren Cohan at a convention back in 2017. I was lucky enough to have her sign some artwork I had done of Glenn and Maggie. When I first handed it to her, I could see she had become overcome with emotion and was speechless for a few moments. She actually ended up taking her phone out of her bag and taking a picture of it to send to Steven Yeun! Another incredible reaction I received was from Ryan Hurst just last year. Angela Kang had reposted my minimalist tribute to The Whisperers on her Instagram and Ryan had seen her post and ended up reposting the design to his own page and following me on Instagram and Twitter. I made a deal with him that I would bring him a print of the design at a convention in Atlanta later that week. To make a long story short, he now owns a 24×36 poster of that design!”
In the future, which franchise would you like to produce prints of and what would be your first print of that selected franchise?
KH: “I’ve had a few requests to design posters for the Marvel franchise as well as for Star Wars and Breaking Bad. If I had to choose, the idea of doing a poster for Breaking Bad is something I’d be more interested in. I’ve never watched the series myself, but the vibe and tone of that show would definitely be something I could easily translate into a minimalist design.”
What advice can you give to upcoming graphic designers that would want to do something similar to you?
KH: “Always be yourself. It’s easy to compare yourself to others, but try to remember it’s not a competition. There is only one you.”
Within the next few years, would you like to see yourself in either this industry, or in a path that is not related to graphic design and art?
KH: “I currently define myself as working part-time as an artist and part-time as a service advocate at my retail job. My dream would be to travel the country and sell my artwork at fan conventions across the United States. However, as of right now, I feel good with where I’m at and how far I’ve come within the past few years!”
You can follow Kailynn and check out her online store at the links below.
