There are a lot of TWD fans who’re waiting eagerly for season 6 of The Walking Dead to kick-off. And I can´t blame them for that, as season six seems to have all the ingredients to top all the previous seasons of TWD. That´s great of course, the only problem is that the very first episode of season six won´t air until the 11th of October. And that´s about two months away from now (which would be an eternal wait for the most). However, Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson´s “Fear of the walking dead” (it´s a TWD spin-off series) has done a great job to work as a filler for TWD Season six (it will ease our hunger for TWD season six for now). Funny enough though, FOTW (Fear of the walking dead) has topped pretty much every cable-TV record there is. As FOTW had over ten million viewers on the premier of episode one on the 26th of August. Not only that, FOTW EP1 had twice as many viewers as TWD EP1 (TWD “Days Gone Bye” had 5.35 million viewers when it aired 2010-10-31).
Anyhow, those’re some really impressive numbers with no doubt, but is FOTW any good? And is the series better than TWD? Yes and no. Please allow me to explain why. So far, AMC has just aired two episodes of FOTW (EP2 “So Close, Yet So Far” aired last night), and even though EP1 and 2 are really good. It´s too soon for me to say whether or not FOTW is “better” than TWD. As TWD has five (soon 6) seasons to its name. Besides, both TWD and FOTW have it´s fair share of unique treats, characters and settings. So both series should have no problem (whatsoever) to co-exist, without eating up each other in the process. In fact, FOTW takes place in the same universe as TWD. So “hopefully” we will get some answers to some of the questions that we have had since the very start of TWD (For example. How it all started, how did that soldier end up inside of that tank?).
Speaking of FOTW, this is the official description (plot) of Far of the walking dead:
“Living in the same universe as The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead is a gritty drama that explores the onset of the undead apocalypse through the lens of a fractured family. Set in a city where people come to escape, shield secrets, and bury their pasts, a mysterious outbreak threatens to disrupt what little stability high school guidance counselor Madison Clark and English teacher Travis Manawa have managed to assemble. The everyday pressure of blending two families while dealing with resentful, escapist, and strung out children takes a back seat when society begins to break down. A forced evolution, a necessary survival of the fittest takes hold, and our dysfunctional family must either reinvent themselves or embrace their darker histories.”
And the plan would be to air one episode of FOTW every Sunday, and so far two (out of six) episodes of FOTW have been aired (see the full list of episodes down below). Six episodes in total may not be all that much, but FOTW season two will consist of 15 episodes in total. One should not forget that we also got TWD Season 6 to enjoy as well. So 2015-2016 will be a very good year for those who love zombies and horror TV-series.
“Pilot” – August 23 (aired)
“So Close, Yet So Far” – August 30 (aired)
“The Dog” – September 13
“Not Fade Away” – September 20
“Cobalt” – September 27
“The Good Man” – October 4
So what do you guys think about “Fear of the walking dead” so far? And are you excited for episode 3? (“The Dog”, airs on the 13th of September).
Robin “V-Act” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround
More by Robin Ek:
Tags: AMC, Dave Erickson, Fear of the walking dead, Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead