'Fear the Walking Dead': 6 Burning Questions Answered

Fear the Walking Dead made their Television Critics Association debut Friday afternoon. The creative team — David Alpert, Dave Erickson, and Adam Davidson — along with cast members Kim Dickens, Cliff Curtis, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Frank Dillane, Elizabeth Rodriguez, and Lorenzo James Henrie delved into how the show is different from its parent, The Walking Dead, and answered some questions about what we can expect in the first season and beyond.

1. Will Fear characters appear on The Walking Dead or vice versa?

“I’m hoping to end up on the show as Andrew Lincoln’s wife,” joked Dickens, who plays Madison. But executive producer and showrunner Erickson said, “I’d love to see these stories conflate at some point, but there’s no plans to do so. There’s no intention of having easter eggs or character references.” Though co-EP and director Davidson jumped in with an, “It might be possible,” so keep hope alive.

Related: 'Fear the Walking Dead’: Get to Know Madison and Travis

2. How is the show different from “the Mothership”?

“I wouldn’t categorize the show as just about fighting zombies,” said Davidson. “It’s a character-based drama.” Or, as Erickson puts it, it’s about an “incredibly dysfunctional blended family dynamic. It’s really about how everything’s fractured for this family… and then there are zombies.”

3. Where are those giant zombie hordes?

Unlike the original, which begins in a post-apocalyptic world, Fear is set right at the start. Does that mean that we’ll get to see the full-on, big-budget zombie hordes that The Walking Dead skipped past? “AMC has no problem with that whatsoever,” said Erickson with a laugh. We will get to see how the military and first responders react to the crisis, but it will continue to be from the perspective of the family.

4. Where did the series’ title come from?

“We went through a couple thousand different variations,” said Davidson. For practical reasons, of course, they had to keep Walking Dead in the title to maintain the franchise, but Erickson said they absolutely wanted to avoid Walking Dead 'colon’ Los Angeles (sorry NCIS, CSI, and Law & Order). Eventually, they went with an early suggestion that, not only stuck around, but also, Erickson said, “It speaks very much to what the characters go through and where the show’s going to go.”

Related: ‘The Walking Dead’ at Comic-Con: Naked Rick, Tested Morgan, Wily Wolves

5. Why teachers?

“If you can survive teaching in an L.A. high school…” joked EP Alpert. But the real answer is, the choice to go with teachers and shop owners rather than cops and survivalists was deliberate. When creating the show with Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Erickson said they wanted to make Fear as different as possible and one of the ways to do that was to have characters who were, “Completely unprepared for what was to come.“

6. Weapon of choice?

If you’re waiting for some iconic weaponry — like Daryl’s crossbow or Michonne’s katana — Erickson revealed, “There’s one weapon you haven’t seen [in the first two episodes] that will stay with us for quite a long while.” And, as wardrobe options become more limited, “Certain pieces will start to define who that character is.” Cosplayers rejoice!

Fear the Walking Dead premieres Aug. 23 at 9 p.m. on AMC.