The Beginning of the Walking Dead
Different city. Different people. Even the walkers are different in AMC ’s “Fear the Walking Dead,” a companion series that takes viewers back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse when few understood what was happening (premieres Sun at 9pm ET). Set in L.A. and centered on a blended family, the series brings a bigger sense of realness. There’s no authoritative figure/lawman like Rick from “The Walking Dead” who’s good with guns. There’s the school counselor/teacher couple with kids from previous marriages struggling with family issues on top of the apocalypse. “We are looking at people who don’t have those authoritarian skills. They are not accustomed to working with weapons or being leaders of groups,” said exec producer David Alpert, who also produced the Walking Dead. The pace seems slower versus TWD, at least the current season of it, as the series explores the dynamic of the dysfunctional family. “It’s most important that people connect with and care about the characters before we start the action,” Alpert said. “We never view it as a big action or zombie show. It’s always viewed as a character driven drama set against the backdrop of the zombie apocalypse.” Rest assured, there will be plenty of skirmishes as the apocalypse unfolds. When it comes to the walkers, there are a couple of major differences. First, they are fresher than the ones in the Walking Dead because they have just turned. They are not fully decayed, according to Alpert. And being in L.A. means a different climate than Hotlanta, where things decompose and decay quickly. LA weather is “great for preservation,” said Alpert. So expect to see walkers that are dry, tan and sunburned. And “they are equally as gross, but just in a different way,” Alpert said. How did the team come up with the title? It was important to have the words “walking dead” in it, Alpert said. And fear is what the show is about: Facing your fear, embracing your fear and living in a world where fear is constant. – Joyce Wang
“Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted,” Sat, 10pm, HBO. Viewers who’ve yet to see her, will notice first Tig Notaro’s extremely low-key delivery. Her clean language may surprise them, too. Wasn’t HBO invented, in part, so the f-bomb could be said on TV? But 36 minutes in, she makes a courageous move, later she’s joking about a bodily function, but in a funny and clean way. Notaro elicits consistent giggles. — “Blunt Talk,” premiere, Sat, 9pm, Starz. It’s a treat to watch Shakespearian thespian Sir Patrick Stewart, 75 years young, acting silly. And he’s very good at it in this off-the-wall comedy about a news anchor with a complicated personal life. While watching the relationship between Stewart and his manservant Harry, played wonderfully by Adrian Scarborough, will be enough to keep viewers smiling, the series overall is thin; the characters are stereotypes and the newsroom premise is only for show. The glass is half full when Stewart and Scarborough are on screen; it’s half empty when they’re not. –“From Dusk till Dawn: The Series,” Season 2 premiere, Tues, 9pm, El Rey. Blood is key to this edgy enterprise—it’s spilled profusely, serpent vampires suck it down and its ties motivate the Gecko and Fuller sibs. A hoot: redoubtable Danny Trejo as The Regulator, to whom blood is mother’s milk. – Seth Arenstein
