Moviefone Editorial

Tag: @tvprogram:228736

  • Norman Reedus Posts Sad Daryl & Rick Photo After Major ‘The Walking Dead’ News

    Serious stuff and thangs have been happening this week for “The Walking Dead.” If only the past couple of seasons were as gripping, maybe the AMC show wouldn’t be leaking both viewers and cast members.

    TWD Season 9 is now taping down in Georgia, and reports just came out that Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) will be leaving this season. Those reports came after Lauren Cohan (Maggie Greene Rhee) was revealed to only be taping about six episodes before going back to her ABC show, which got picked up for midseason.

    This is all after losing Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes last season. TWD could maybe go on without one Grimes, but both?

    That is apparently the plan. The Hollywood Reporter claims Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) is now “in the midst of negotiating a rich new deal that will pay him more than $20 million as he will become the new No. 1 on the call sheet.” (Or they could just cancel the show.)

    Norman and Andy are BFF brothers in real life, as Daryl and Rick are BFF brothers on screen. (Or were, before that random Season 8 finale twist.) We don’t know exactly what’s happening behind-the-scenes, but few want Daryl to rise if it means Rick falling. Norman would never want to see Andy leave either.

    No one in the cast has officially commented on the Lincoln/Reedus rumors, but here’s Norman Reedus with some black-and-white visual commentary with a heart emoji:

    ❤️

    A post shared by norman reedus (@bigbaldhead) on

    Rick + Daryl forever. But losing Rick would be more than bittersweet. It would basically make TWD a different show, and we already have “Fear the Walking Dead” for that.

    Lincoln previously volunteered Rick as tribute as a means toward the show’s end game. Here’s what he told the New York Daily News last October:

    “There comes a point where there are too many gray hairs on your chin. I think the audience deserves an end game. It’s a lot of time to invest in a story without some kind of resolution. If I was watching it I would want some answers, something, and if that means the demise of a central character or a principal character, then I’m willing to take the medicine.”

    There was always idle speculation about “The Walking Dead” going on without Rick, but that was assuming Carl Grimes would still be around to follow in Dad’s footsteps. (At least Carl is still around in the comic book.)

    Meanwhile, Norman Reedus reportedly had some good news happen amid the Andrew Lincoln reports. His girlfriend Diane Kruger is reportedly pregnant with their first child together. Reedus already has an 18-year-old son with ex Helena Christensen.

    “The Walking Dead” Season 9 is expected to premiere this October on AMC.

    Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.

  • Andrew Lincoln Is Reportedly Leaving ‘The Walking Dead’ Next Season

    “The Walking Dead” may soon be without its biggest star: Andrew Lincoln is reportedly leaving the show next season.

    That’s the word from Collider, which reports that Lincoln’s exit is set for sometime in season nine. Though the site is coy on details of just how the actor is set to be written off (or likely killed off, though we don’t know that for sure just yet), it does say that the star isn’t expected to make it through the entire season, and will appear in only “half-a-dozen episodes.”

    News of a major character’s departure isn’t entirely shocking, since “The Walking Dead” has proven time and time again that seemingly no one is safe in the zombie apocalypse (or around Negan and Lucille), But Lincoln’s rumored departure is different, and definitely jarring. His Sheriff Rick Grimes is unquestionably the face of the series, with the show centering around him from the opening shot of the pilot onward. Losing him would mean losing a key piece of the show’s very essence.

    But as with all long-running series, cast members like Lincoln, who’s been there since day one, are bound to get a bit stir crazy playing the same role for so long. And fans are starting to tire of the show’s nonsensical plot lines, so it stands to reason that its stars are, too.

    Lincoln’s costar, Lauren Cohan, may also be jumping ship soon, since her ABC pilot was picked up to series. She’ll still be back as Maggie Greene for at least part of season nine, but we wouldn’t be surprised if her stay is short-lived, too.

    Collider also reports that AMC is trying to make a deal with Norman Reedus, who plays fan favorite Daryl Dixon, to take over Lincoln’s leading man status, offering him a substantial pay bump. So at least one original protagonist will be sticking around. Based on how many viewers the show is hemorrhaging, though, there may not be many folks around to see it.

    Stay tuned to see how this situation shakes out.

    [via: Collider]

  • Toast the Badass Women of ‘The Walking Dead’ With These New Wines

    “Walking Dead” fans who also like to enjoy a libation while watching the zombie apocalypse unfold are in luck: Three new wine varieties tying into the show are now available for purchase, with each one toasting a different badass female character.

    People reports that cable outlet AMC is partnering with the wine retailers at Lot18 to offer three new bottles that should please both avid “TWD” fans and avid wine connoisseurs alike. And the best part is that they’re all dedicated to the show’s trio of powerful women: Michonne (Danai Gurira), Carol (Melissa McBride), and Maggie (Lauren Cohan).

    For Michonne, there’s a 2016 Spanish Tempranillo with notes of cherry, plum, and red fruit that “will slice to your core with its focused acidity.” In honor of Carol, a 2017 Monterey County Syrah Rosé offers notes of melon, orange, and strawberry, and offers “a notable complexity and quiet inner strength.” (Who knew wine could be so noble?)

    And finally, the Maggie varietal rounds out the pack: the 2016 California Petit Sirah-Zinfandel Blend offers an eclectic mix of flavors (including bacon, black fruit, blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, and bramble), and is touted as “a crowd-pleasing red that’s easy to love.” Sounds about right.

    Lot18 previously rolled out a “TWD”-themed collection tied to Rick, Daryl, and Negan, and all those varieties plus the new trio are available for purchase through the retailer here. Happy watching and drinking (responsibly, of course), everyone!

    [via: People]

  • Lauren Cohan Confirms She’ll Return to ‘The Walking Dead’ for Season 9

    She’s coming back for revenge!

    “The Walking Dead” fans weren’t thrilled with how Maggie Greene Rhee’s (Lauren Cohan) story ended in the Season 8 finale. But they blamed the writers more than the character or actress, and most fans are thrilled to hear that Lauren Cohan will officially return to the role.

    Cohan was reportedly playing hardball with her Season 9 contract, and it was the perfect time to do that. Maggie is (still!) pregnant with the late Glenn Rhee’s baby, which is a story that needs to move forward in Season 9. Plus, she’s the leader of Hilltop in a post-All Out War world. And, on top of that…

    SPOILERS on the Season 8 finale!

    … Maggie, Jesus, and Daryl Dixon are involved in a secret alliance to try and kill off Negan, whether Rick Grimes and Michonne like that or not. Maggie wants revenge for Glenn, which is understandable, but fans don’t want a Civil War storyline. Still, once the show launched that storyline in the Season 8 finale, they really needed Lauren Cohan on board to follow through with it in Season 9.

    Cohan was at CinemaCon to promote her upcoming movie “Mile 22,” and Entertainment Weekly asked if she’ll return to TWD.

    “I’m going back. There’s a lot more Maggie story to tell.”

    AMC must’ve paid up! During her negotiations, Khary Payton (King Ezekiel) posted his support on Instagram, simply writing, “Pay the woman.”

    There’s still the snag of what’s happening with “Whiskey Cavalier.” During her negotiations, Cohan signed on for the ABC pilot. So how is she going to juggle both TWD — which starts filming in early May, as always — and this new show? If the pilot isn’t picked up, it won’t really be a big deal. And “The Walking Dead” does love to kill off main characters, so you never know how long Maggie will last…

    Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.

  • ‘The Walking Dead’ Fans Call BS on Season 8 Finale Civil War Storyline

    WARNING: Spoilers ahead from “The Walking Dead” Season 8 finale, and also TWD comic book.

    Is “The Walking Dead” going straight from All Out War to Civil War?

    Season 8 finally ended the war between Team Rick and Team Negan, with Rick Grimes taking a page right out of Robert Kirkman’s comic book series and slashing Negan’s throat. To many viewers, it looked like Negan was going to die. But Rick called for Siddiq to save Negan, much to Maggie Greene Rhee’s anguish and fury.

    That part stuck to the books. In the comic, Rick does jail Negan as a sign of doing things differently, and Hilltop leader Maggie does feel betrayed by that decision, since she wants revenge for Negan Lucille-ing Glenn. (In the comic, Carl Grimes is still alive, and Andrea is Rick’s girlfriend, not Michonne. Also, Daryl Dixon does not exist in the comic.)

    However, the TV version did a pretty big departure by making the end scene an ominous threat scene from Maggie to Jesus and Daryl, that they plan to bite their tongues and play nice, then eventually show Rick and Michonne how they were wrong.


    Some fans even interpreted that as a threat on Rick and Michonne’s lives, which doesn’t seem to be what Maggie is saying. She just wants Negan dead. But it does suggest a civil war mutiny storyline that no one wants.

    Outgoing showrunner Scott M. Gimple even compared the scene to “The Godfather” (via EW):

    Gimple on if Maggie, Jesus, and Daryl are now in a civil war plot against Rick for giving Negan alive

    Gimple: “It looks like that to me. Lauren [Cohan] is so amazing in that scene. She’s full Maggie Corleone. And Jesus, you know, he would not have killed the surrendering Saviors, but he’s not Morgan. Like, he could kill Negan. That certainly isn’t off the menu for Jesus.”

    Fans were not happy about this questionable twist. So we have a new war brewing on top of Negan being kept alive, Morgan leaving, and Dwight apparently leaving? (At least Eugene found some redemption.)

    Gimple has been emphasizing a “very, very different” world in Season 9, although there’s no confirmation of a major time jump, as there is at this point in Kirkman’s comic book. If years go by, it’s possible the “civil war” angle will shift. But at this point, fans are not thrilled about the idea of Maggie/Daryl/Jesus vs. Rick/Michonne storyline in Season 9:


    Yeah, the other ball in play here is Lauren Cohan’s contract as Maggie. She’s been in negotiations for a while now, asking for more money — and you can’t really blame her. Not only is her character (STILL) pregnant with Glenn’s baby, she’s at the heart of this sill civil war storyline. They can’t do too much on either front without her.

    TWD tends to film from early May to late November, with seasons premiering Octobers on AMC. Stay tuned for updates on what happens from here … unless you’re giving up.

    Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.

  • ‘The Walking Dead’ Showrunner Hints Season 9 Will Have ‘Very, Very Different Vibe’

    The Walking DeadSeason 8, Episode 1Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Lauren Cohan as Maggie GreeneÂOn “The Walking Dead,” when one door closes, a window opens. This Sunday’s finale will conclude the storylines of the eight seasons preceding it and pave a new path for the AMC drama in Season 9.

    “This finale is about closure,” showrunner Scott Gimple told The Wrap. “It’s about closure of the All Out War storyline, but in some ways, this is a closure to the first eight seasons of the show.”

    He added, “Season 9 is going to be unlike things people have seen before on the show. And it really is going to take on a very, very different vibe — a very singular vibe unto itself.”

    The finale appears to be a final, conclusive showdown between Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and nemesis Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). But what happens after that? This season already departed from Robert Kirkman’s comic book storyline — Rick’s son, Carl, isn’t dead in them, as he is on the show. Will the show introduce the Whisperers, the next big bad in the comics, or veer into a completely unknown direction?

    Gimple said the finale will “set the stage to start some very new stuff: very new challenges for the characters, very different kinds of stories, in different kinds of situations, a real evolution of the show.”

    He teased the upcoming storylines have “very very unusual and sort of new drives.”

    “People are going to see there’s a lot more story to tell,” Gimple promised.

  • ‘The Walking Dead’ Star Was Told During Show Event That His Character Would Die 

    “The Walking Dead” Season 8 is ending this coming Sunday, April 15, but the penultimate episode included a pretty big death.

    *SPOILER ALERT*

    Negan killed off his former right-hand-man Simon during Episode 15, “Worth.” Actor Steven Ogg — who was fantastic in the role — did the post-mortem interview rounds, and something he told Entertainment Weekly was pretty interesting. It wasn’t specifically about Simon’s storyline, it was about how The Powers That Be handle the tricky job of letting actors know they will be leaving.

    Here’s that section of the Q&A:

    ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Start of off by telling us the how, when, and where of you finding out about Simon’s untimely demise?

    STEVEN OGG: [Showrunner Scott] Gimple talked to me. It could have been at the premiere. It was at some event where I sort of found out, “Oh yeah, you’re going to be dying.” I was like, “Oh, that would have been cool to find out tomorrow.” That’s the way of the world. That’s the life of the show. It was just like, you know, you’re sad. You’re bummed because it’s your friends and your family and it’s work, and it’s a job. More importantly, it’s your friends and your family. You love it and, “Okay, yeah. Well, as long as I go down in flames. Can I get a big cannonball?”

    Read his full Q&A for more.

    Scott Gimple may need to work on his bedside manner. He’s the third showrunner for “The Walking Dead” and he’s leaving after Season 8. But he’s sort of being promoted, since he’ll be overseeing both “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead” (which now includes Lennie James’ Morgan as a crossover character). He’s in charge of the entire TWD brand for AMC.

    But Gimple has taken a lot of heat in the past year, especially for the decision to kill off Carl Grimes, and the manner in which that happened. Chandler Riggs said he was blindsided by his character’s exit, after he bought a house in the Atlanta area and thought he was staying on the show. Riggs’ father also posted frustration with Gimple and the network, then deleted his post.

    It sounds like Steven Ogg didn’t have the best departure experience either. He had only been on the show since the end of Season 6, but still. To be told at a premiere, or panel event? TWD loses characters all the time, so maybe it’s tough to make that phone call or sit down with someone to spell it out.

    “The Walking Dead” Season 8 ends All Out War with “Wrath,” from 9 to 10:10 p.m. on April 15. That will be followed by the premiere of “Fear the Walking Dead” Season 4 on AMC.

    Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.

  • ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Season 4 Trailer Brings Morgan Into the Fold

    AMC is getting us ready for “Survival Sunday” by giving us more Morgan.

    The network’s big TV event on April 15 will feature the “Walking Dead” Season 8 finale, followed by the “Fear the Walking Dead” Season 4 premiere — a crossover episode that incorporates Morgan (Lennie James) into the spinoff zombie series. To prepare us, AMC debuted a new trailer Sunday night, as Variety reports. Morgan comes in at roughly the halfway point, and he looks like he’s been through the wringer.

    “Back east, there was a fight. Big fight,” Morgan says in the preview. “I didn’t know how to make it stop. Good people died. I lose people, and then I lose myself.”

    He ends up encountering the Clark family, which the Season 4 synopsis says will give us a new perspective on their world.

    In season four of Fear the Walking Dead, we will see the world of Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) and her family through new eyes — the eyes of Morgan Jones (Lennie James), joining the story from the world of The Walking Dead. The characters’ immediate past mixes with an uncertain present of struggle and discovery as they meet new friends, foes and threats. They fight for each other, against each other and against a legion of the dead to somehow build an existence against the crushing pressure of lives coming apart.

    The new trailer shows a little bit of everything mentioned above, especially the struggle, fighting, and danger.

    AMC also recently debuted a new promo that highlights Morgan’s path from “The Walking Dead” to “Fear the Walking Dead.” Called “Morgan’s Journey,” the 30-second video is full of intense highs and lows from the character’s story arc.

    It’s going to be interesting to see how Morgan fits in.

    “Fear the Walking Dead” Season 4 premieres April 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on AMC.

  • ‘Walking Dead’ Star Andrew Lincoln ‘Would Be Surprised’ if Lauren Cohan Leaves

    “Walking Dead” fans who are dreading the seemingly inevitable departure of Lauren Cohan have a reason to be (cautiously) optimistic: None other than the show’s leading man, Andrew Lincoln, said he “would be surprised” if the actress wasn’t back for season nine.

    Lincoln’s comments, made in an interview with the UK’s The Independent, were in response to the ongoing dispute between Cohan and AMC, reportedly over Cohan’s salary. The actress, who has been with the zombie drama since season two, is one of the longest-tenured stars of the show, and was reportedly seeking parity — or close to it — with male costars Lincoln and Norman Reedus, and has not yet signed on for another season of the show.

    While that argument was playing out, Cohan’s agents put her up for several pilots, one of which she booked: ABC spy series “Whiskey Cavalier,” co-starring Scott Foley. Booking a pilot is by no means a guarantee that Cohan will leave “TWD,” but it certainly doesn’t help her chances of staying, either, especially if the show is picked up.

    Lincoln’s statement to The Independent, however, makes it sound like AMC is doing everything in its power to keep Cohan on the show — at least, if her character winds up surviving the impending season eight finale.

    Here’s Lincoln’s full comments on the matter:

    “Lauren is a good friend and wonderful actress. What she has created with the role of Maggie has had an enormous impact on the world of The Walking Dead. I would be surprised if Maggie Rhee wasn’t leading from the front as she always has done next season. That is, of course, if she and Rick make it through the next four episodes.”

    As the death of Carl proved this season, there’s no guarantee that any of these characters will make it to season nine, and Maggie’s death would certainly be a surprise. Still, it’s nice to see that the “Walking Dead” cast is behind Cohan all the way. We’ll see if AMC — or the show’s writers — feels the same way.

    [via: The Independent, h/t TheWrap]

  • ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8 Finale Is ‘Very Satisfying,’ Norman Reedus Says

    “The Walking Dead” Season 8 has struggled to retain viewers, but there are still just over 6.6 million loyal fans still keeping up with the Alexandrians every Sunday.

    It’s almost over, though, with the 16th and final episode of the season airing April 15. Episode 16 is called “Wrath,” with this synopsis:

    “The communities join forces in the last stand against the Saviors as all-out war unfolds.”

    That suggests a lot will happen, while staying pretty darn vague.

    Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) told Entertainment Weekly the finale is so big it’s basically four endings in one:

    “There are four things that happen that could be the finale, and they all go off at once at the same time. They head in different directions, and they’re all individually as good as the next, and they’re all very, very satisfying. I like that about it. I like that it’s not just one person’s story. There are probably four, maybe five, different directions that the show could’ve ended on and it went in all of them. It’s very satisfying.”

    He said it. “Very satisfying.” We’ve heard that kind of thing before, so call him out if you are not satisfied by the finale.

    As EW noted, outgoing showrunner Scott M. Gimple had said something similar about the ambitions of the finale:

    “It’s very big. Probably currently a little too big. It was pretty amazing the scope of some of the things that we got to do. And yet the emotional intensity was insane. And it very much sets up the start of the next story.”

    EW asked Gimple exactly how much of the finale would set up Season 9.

    “There is some. It certainly is not all setup. But the seeds to the next turn of the story are planted. And some of them are not. Some are subtly planted in as much that we know in many ways the next turn of the story.”

    “The Walking Dead” is based on Robert Kirkman’s ongoing comic book series, so many fans already suspect they know how All Out War will end. But even if they’re right, it sounds like that’s just one piece of the puzzle. And the recent arrival of new character Georgie (Jayne Atkinson) has thrown a wrench into expectations about what storyline might be next.

    Prepare for a few surprises, and hope that Reedus is right about the Season 8 finale being satisfying.

    Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.