The renowned Walking Dead series’s zombies have started to change, and it seems that the franchise has as well. This Sunday, AMC will broadcast the six-episode anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead, which not only looks at new people, places, and periods in the TWD world but also explores other tones, before the final eight episodes of the main TV programme air in October. Even some zombie humour will be included in the unusually star-studded programme, but Tales’ follow-up season may be even stranger.
There was time to write a musical episode of the programme, according to showrunner Channing Powell, but there wasn’t enough time to include it in season one. He said: “We did come up with a musical episode, but for production reasons it was going to be a little bit too tough to shoot. I’ll try to acquire that one if there is a season two or three if we get one. It is ingrained in my mind and heart.
It’s incredibly difficult for me to conceive a funny—well, a purposefully funny—episode of a TWD programme, much alone a musical after watching The Walking Dead Original Recipe for more than 10 years. When the dead first start to shamble about, would it be an episode about humans staging a musical? Would zombies sway to music? Are they singing? The series has been teasing the appearance of “variant” zombies, who are quicker and more intelligent than the rest. Will they possess the ability to organise a chorus line?
Of course, there’s no guarantee that this musical episode will appear in Tales season two, but to be honest, I’m glad the possibility was even raised. Send Maggie and Negan to New York City, Daryl to France, and Rick and Michonne to their own miniseries once they leave the cinemas. Let’s then dress all the zombies in tap shoes. And why not? The first episode of Tales will air on August 14 if you want to get an indication of how crazy the series will allow itself to get.
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