Generally speaking when you want to know what’s going on with a show the executive producer is the person to ask. Usually they aren’t too forthcoming with details and while this is mostly spoiler free (at least in specifics) there are a TON of hints at what we may be witnessing in the upcoming season on ‘The Walking Dead’!
With a little more than two months to go before the Season 4 debut of The Walking Dead on October 13, 2013, we’re chomping at the bit for any news we can get.
Wetpaint Entertainment was lucky enough to chat exclusively with the show’s Executive Producer Dave Alpert last month at Hyundai’s The Walking Dead 10th Anniversary party during San Diego Comic-Con 2013 and he warned and prepared us for additional deaths to come in Season 4, what we can expect from Rick now that he has come to terms with Laurie’s death (we’re still crying) and much more.
Check out the complete interview below!
Wetpaint Entertainment: So what can we say about Season 4 in broad strokes?
Dave Alpert: Honestly, I think we’re really going to take all the threads that we set up in the first three seasons and really start to weave a very interesting tapestry here. And it’s going to be rich and nuanced, and it’s going to go in directions that I think no one’s really expected. And most importantly, we’re going to take some people that we love. We’re going to torture them, and not everybody’s going to make it. And that to me is what the show is all about.
What will Rick’s arc be?
Well, Rick came out of the end of Season 3, like he tried to be the Ricktator, right? He tried to do something different, and you could argue that he’s alive, that it worked, but what cost, right? His wife is dead. He’s a single father of two. He lost his best friend. He had to kill his best friend. He’s paid an incredible price, so I think he’s searching desperately to try to figure out a way not just to survive, but to live, And I don’t think he’s figured that out, and that journey is really sort of the heart of everything we’re trying to do in this season.
He’s been spiraling out of control and it seems like there’s a dark side that he’s nearing. Is he getting closer to that? I think when we meet Rick, he’s going to stabilize a little bit, but it’s not necessarily that he’s found the answers. I think he’s sort of found a respite from the storm. He’s found a little cave to huddle in and try to get his bearings. But he’s got to make decisions, and he knows other choices are coming up. And we’re also going to force situations on him that are going to make him make decisions that he’s not going to be really ready to do.
How can you tease the new threat?
I think it’s combining some old threats. We see the individual zombies. We see the herd zombies. We see some of the other human groups out there. And then there’s this new thing that’s going to sort of spiral everything out, sort of spin it all out in a way that, if you thought you had a handle on what the threat was before, you’re wrong.
Whose arc are you most excited about?
Man, that’s a great question. I’d say I’m incredibly excited about Tyreese. First of all, I think Chad Coleman is just like, a phenomenal, phenomenal actor, but even more than that — he didn’t have a big role in Season 3. He had a big presence, but he didn’t have a giant role. And I think we’re going to put him through some incredible situations, and the performances that I’ve seen so far, I think he’s really going to surprise people and take them by storm.
You’ve said good‑bye to some really big characters. I assume there’s more of that in store for you?
There is.
How should we prepare?Honestly, I think you’ve just got to get as invested as possible. To me, I need to be there. Like when Laurie died, it ripped my heart out, right? Every time I watch that episode, I cry. Like it really got to me. And that to me, is great because, you know what? I cared about these characters on the show, and we’re going to do that again. Not kill Laurie, but we’re going to do more of those scenes where you’re going to get invested in those characters because they’re not going to make it. But that to me, that’s why people like the show. That’s part of the experience.
Can you talk about anyone you’re introducing?
Yes, Lawrence Gilliard is coming onto the show, another great actor from The Wire. One of the most talented actors of our time. And he’s taking a character that’s not from the comic books, from the novels. And he’s really taken it to some interesting places, and he’s made some interesting decisions. He was written as a white guy, and we cast him black. And I think he’s doing some phenomenal, phenomenal work, and I think his interaction with the rest of the group is going to put a little bit of an X factor on everything we’re doing.
SourcE: Dave Alpert
