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Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Andrew Lincoln at the Comic-Con panel for The Walking Dead

Jul 25, 2011 Comic-Con 2011 By Mark Redfern Photography by Wendy Lynch Redfern

“I was of the mind that it was never going to be a TV show, because it’s so dark,” said Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead comic book series that was adapted into the critically acclaimed AMC TV series, one of the biggest and best reviewed cable series of 2011. Executive producer/director Frank Darabondt (The Shawshank Redemption) said that when he read the first issue of the zombie apocalypse comic book he knew right away that it would make a great TV show. At the panel in Ballroom 20 the producers and cast teased season two, which debuts October 16.

Firstly a trailer for the new season was shown and it was intense. The centerpiece scene had the characters stuck on a freeway of abandoned cars, having to hide underneath cars while deadly zombies shuffle by. (View the trailer below.)

“It’s a bit of pressure knowing everyone loves the show and that there’s an expectation,” said Kirkman on approaching season two after the fantastic response to the first one. “It’s empowered us to try harder, to cross more lines and do bigger things.”

Kirkman (who’s also an executive producer on the show), Darabondt, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd (who had a cameo as a zombie in the season one finale), and special effects/makeup artist Greg Nicotero were questioned for a few minutes at the start, and then the cast was brought out. “This is my second con, but it’s still just as scary,” admitted Andrew Lincoln, who plays sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes. Lincoln screen-tested for the role in Darabondt’s garage and got the part only a few weeks of sleepless nights after his child was born.

“The scripts this season are unprecedented, they are the best television scripts I’ve ever read,” promised Sarah Wayne Callies, who plays Rick’s wife, Lori Grimes.

“The Walking Dead fans are the most hungry for it and we want to feed you,” joked Jon Bernthal, who plays sheriff’s deputy Shane Walsh.

“I’ve never had an experience like this, so thank you for being here and caring about the show,” said veteran actor Jeffrey DeMunn, seemingly at his first con. When asked about how his serious theater training impacts what he does on The Walking Dead, DeMunn, who plays Dale Horvath, replied, “I have no idea how Death of a Salesman prepares me for killing zombies.”

Steven Yeun, who plays Glenn, told a narrowing story of how a tick ended up on his private parts, which is why every morning before shooting and every night after shooting he does a tick check. (Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon, was also on the panel.)

Kirkman said that he really wanted Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) to appear on The Walking Dead. “My second go to is John Stamos,” he joked.

But Kirkman turned serious when asked what he’d do when faced with a real life zombie apocalypse. “I would kill myself,” the creator said, adding that he’d written the comic book so long that he knew what a true nightmare the situation would be. “I’d jump off a bridge.”