Fan favorites Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan reprise their roles from the popular AMC series The Walking Dead for the latest expansion of the franchise — The Walking Dead: Dead City, a six-episode spinoff premiering June 15 on AMC+ and June 18 on AMC. Along with Scott Gimple, chief content officer of the Walking Dead universe, and showrunner Eli Jorné, Cohan and Morgan discuss the impact of bringing the series to New York City in emmy. The award-winning official publication of the Television Academy is on newsstands June 15.
In 2010, The Walking Dead — based on a series of comic books created by Robert Kirkman — became a surprising cultural phenomenon, leading to a string of hits, including the long-running spinoff (Fear the Walking Dead). By the time the flagship series ended its 11-year run in 2022, several expansion series were in the works. But pairing the characters of Maggie and Negan (played by Cohan and Morgan, respectively) was not a priority for Gimple. It was Jorné, then a TWD staff writer, who was obsessed with pairing Maggie and Negan. “He saw them as the keys to some really interesting storytelling,” Gimple says. “He would stop me in the halls. He would search for me in my office. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he bothered me in the bathroom.” Jorné also developed the idea of setting the narrative in the urban landscape of New York City, a change from its typical rural backdrop.
Jorné wasn't the only one on a mission to set it in New York City. Both Cohan and Morgan, who serve as executive producers, were determined to showcase Manhattan. The city opened up a variety of new possibilities for the TWD universe, including characters zip lining from one skyscraper to the next while hordes of zombies walked below. But shooting in the city that never sleeps presented some challenges. The trio knew it wasn't going to be easy. "It's actually really tricky to create post-apocalyptic New York in New York," Jorné says.
Emptying streets for production was not an option. In "Life After Death," Morgan explains, "[That's] impossible, and forget about closing Central Park at noon on a Tuesday." Consequently, much of the series was shot in cities across New Jersey, but Cohan and Morgan were nonetheless determined to feature New York and lobbied hard for it. "We needed more New York," Morgan says. "We needed the scale. The grandness. Lauren and I, the whole time, were pushing for more New York."
A break came when the production landed two days and two nights in Manhattan, including a shoot at the iconic Delmonico's — the now defunct eatery — where the characters were sheltering under scaffolding as zombies poured out of skyscraper windows and rooftops. "We have some disgustingly epic set pieces," Cohan says.
Jorné recalls, "We had to shoot this amazing, incredible, thrilling sequence, and our director totally nailed it; so we could all just sit back and enjoy the ride of being in downtown Manhattan. That was fun." Cohan says, "We did get New York in the end, [and] we went out with a bang."
Additional feature highlights from the new issue include:
In "The Serial Ascent of Tony Bourdain," an excerpt from his biography "Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain," author Charles Leerhsen explains that the success of Bourdain's CNN series Parts Unknown was built on the know-how the chef and writer had gained on two previous shows — and the gradual shaping of his magnetic TV persona.
The FX breakout hit The Bear returns for its second season June 22 on Hulu. In "Yes, Chef!" the cast and crew reflect on the success of the popular series about an elite chef who returns to Chicago to run his family's neighborhood restaurant.
In "Onward, Outlander," emmy takes a look at the final season of the wildly popular STARZ series Outlander and the expansion series to come, including spinoff Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
About emmy
Emmy, the official publication of the Television Academy, goes behind the scenes of the industry for a unique insider's view. With wide-ranging, inclusive subjects representative of the Television Academy membership and the medium as a whole, emmy showcases the scope of television and profiles the people who make it happen, from the stars of top shows and artisans behind the cameras, to programming trends and technological advances. Honored with dozens of awards for editorial excellence, emmy is published 12 times per year and is available on selected newsstands and at TelevisionAcademy.com for single print and digital copies as well as subscriptions.
Download the press release here.
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Stephanie Goodell
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breakwhitelight for the Television Academy