OMFGTV was among the thousands of attendees at WonderCon 2018 in Anaheim, California, where we got the scoop on AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead in the press room! Boy did we learn a lot about the upcoming fourth season! We met the new showrunners, who discussed this seasons themes and how they play with time, as well as some new and returning cast to discuss their characters roles this season.
Community vs. Isolation | Showrunner Andrew Chambliss says one major theme this season is seeing a character go from hopelessness to a place of hope. “The one kinda main theme that we’re kind of exploring is taking all these characters who are very much in isolation and really in a place of hopelessness, and slowly following them on a journey to building community and a hint of hope.” According to series newcomer Jenna Elfman, community vs isolation is the major theme throughout the season.
Timing | In past seasons of Fear, each episode was approximately 2 days, making it easy for viewers to tell how much time has elapsed since the beginning. But this season that all changes. “One thing we are doing is perhaps experimenting with time,” says Chambliss. Alycia Debnam-Carey is also very excited to be playing with time this season. “We get to see these characters in different circumstances sometimes, and in different emotional places, that contrast one another.”
This time jump may make this a good point for new viewers to jump in!
New Faces | We will be seeing several new faces this season as our characters go out and find a community. Jenna Elfman will be playing Naomi, and she was very excited to join the cast and jump back into drama television! “I really was looking forward to a project where I could really lean into the human story and human emotion, and tell a real story where I could stay in those moments and connect with people and really connect with humanity.” Elfman really loves the writing and the actors, and feels extremely lucky to be on the show.
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Maggie Grace comes to the show playing Althea, a character who is seemingly prepared for this world. “It’s an unusually capable character who can not only survive but thrive in this post-apocalyptic world because of who she was before, even after how much she’s lost. Also as a woman, finding a character that’s not ornamental or eroticized, that she has an agenda, that she makes decisions and takes actions every day to pursue that agenda, is pretty freakin awesome. And unusual,” says Grace.
Lennie James is no stranger to the Walking Dead universe, and this season Morgan will be making his debut on Fear, meeting up with the Clark family. “When Morgan comes across the Clark family, he does it kind of piece by piece. He doesn’t necessarily know that he’s meeting a family, he meets them as individuals and gets to know them in very different ways and under very different circumstances, so he doesn’t immediately make the connections, And when the connections are made, they are kind of profound.”
Garret Dillahunt plays new character John, and though he couldn’t say much about his character, he attributes how well developed it is to the writers.
Struggle to Move Forward | It seems like both Strand, played by Colman Domingo, and Alicia will be struggling to let go of things from their past to move forward. Domingo says Strand is now a part of a community. He wants to move forward with his life, but struggles with his past. Alicia on the other hand, is struggling with the many losses she’s recently faced and may not be handling it so well, according to Debnam-Carey. “Dealing with or not dealing with too well socially. We’ve kind of bounced back and forth from her wanting to be on her own, wanting to be with people, and that definitely follows through in this season. But at a much more extreme and sustained level.”
Leader? | The showrunners hinted that a lot of turmoil this season may revolve around leadership and who wants it. At the end of season 3 we saw Alicia get put into a leadership position and thrive despite the decisions she had to make, she could potentially make a good leader this season. “I don’t think we’ve even truly even seen the full potential of where that can go yet. I think there was a hint of it, obviously towards the end of season 3, which was really exciting. I don’t think she saw herself as that person, because it’s always been behind the shadow of her mother or her brother, so for her to be in that position is unique and different for her. But then this new season, I mean it showcases it in an entirely different way.”
After speaking with the cast and creators of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead we can tell you that you absolutely don’t want to miss the season 4 premiere, April 15 at special time 10pm on AMC!