‘Fear the Walking Dead’ exec addresses Ferguson comparisons, deaths of blacks on show
Only two episodes into Fear the Walking Dead and the show is already garnering criticisms over the violence, comparisons to real life conflicts with police and the deaths of black characters on the show. Talking with THR, showrunner Dave Erickson explains the direction of the show and those decisions.
“Ultimately, it came down to when we were casting those parts, we didn’t know who was going to live, who would die or how those stories would arc out or not arc out,” Erickson said, addressing the deaths of three African-Americans in the first two airings. “For us, it was about casting that felt reflective of the community and getting the best actor and that was the final determining factor.”
The chaos in the streets and police shootings led many to compare the show to Ferguson and other controversial protests over allegations of racism.
“…we’re not trying to polemicize; the show isn’t polemic. What we tried to think of is how it would manifest. If people were turning, if they were attacking people in the streets, what would the response to that be?” Erickson says.
“If the police and then the military were to come out to deal with an issue, what would their response be when they’re dealing with a walker who is obviously not going to back down. There’s something about the perception of that as people are trying to wrap their brains around what’s going on. It was us trying to figure out what the logical progression would be, centering on this time when Rick was in his coma. What were the steps that led to the cops coming out? What were the steps that led to the SWAT teams coming, the National Guard coming — which is something we explore — and what would be the larger police and then military response as things start to unravel,” he explains to THR.
He talks about the response to the outbreak, the police officer stocking up on water, how the main characters are reacting and why.
“We’ll continue to see the unraveling as Tobias says, when civilization ends, it ends fast and we’ll see more elements of that. We’ll see more elements of the fall and we will hopefully see Madison and Travis find each other. The circumstances will be very horrific, if not apocalyptic.”
Check out the full interview HERE
The new episode (#3) won’t air this Sunday, but on September 13, delayed due to the Labor Day weekend.
Fear the Walking Dead stars Cliff Curtis, Mercedes Mason, Ruben Blades, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Kim Dickens, Frank Dillane, Colman Domingo, Lorenzo James Henrie and Elizabeth Rodriguez.