The Walking Dead showrunner talks the return of Oceanside
After the defeat of Negan, we got a chance to see The Walking Dead communities in season 9 no longer under the control of a baseball-bat wielding lunatic. We saw Alexandria. We saw the Hilltop and the Kingdom. Heck, we even saw the Negan-less Saviors at the Sanctuary. One location to which we never ventured, however, was Oceanside. That’s about to change in season 10.
As our exclusive image above shows, Oceanside will be back in a big way when the show returns on Oct. 6, and showrunner Angela Kang is excited for the unique locale’s return to the screen. “It’s been really fun having Oceanside back in the fold this season,” says Kang. “We’ve sort of been away from them for a minute, but they are one of our communities and they’re an active partner in everything that’s going on. Everybody’s made a protection pact, and Oceanside’s part of that.”
The image above shows the alliance of communities taking park in an intense training exercise to aid in their preparation against foes either living or dead. “In season 9, one of the last plans that Tara had before her life was unfortunately cut short by the Whisperers is she made a deal with Oceanside saying, ‘Hey, maybe we should train each other,’” says Kang. “Rachel offered up the beach, and so they are people who have made good on that pact. That’s part of Tara’s legacy coming into the new season.”
While the main Oceanside set is on the same Raleigh Studios lot in Senoia, GA that also has housed such iconic locations as the Prison, the Sanctuary, the Heaps and the Hilltop — the cast and crew flew southeast to Jekyll Island to film the exterior shot you see here on the same beach where Tara fist washed ashore in season 7.
“We had a great time filming at Jekyll Island in Georgia,” says Kang. “It was scorching heat, but it’s such a beautiful, unique landscape and I think it gives this season this really interesting visual look and some scope that is just really special. Everybody really enjoyed the time that we spent there.”
Kang also dropped a clue as to what else to expect from the community in season 10. “In the comic book, Robert Kirkman shows Oceanside and the way that ships are coming in and out of what’s their dock now, and so that’s some of the stuff that we’re playing with this season as well.”
Season 10 of The Walking Dead sets sail Oct. 6 on AMC
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