The Walking Dead To Film Live Episode In Maine

AMC Studios, in a joint statement with the Maine Department of Film and Television Production, today announced that “The Walking Dead” will film a live episode in Maine next month.

The live episode, entitled “Snow Falling on Zombies”, will be a first for the blockbuster show about life after a Zombie Apocalypse.

“Our actors have been longing for a challenge,” AMC spokesperson Robin Romero explained to this Modern Philosopher.  “Going live was the answer.  Maine’s woods are a perfect stand in for the forests that surround the prison on the show, and we’ll save both money and time by not having to hire extras and get them into Zombie make up.”

AMC explained that this special episode would take place entirely in the woods, and focus on a small group that gets lost during a snowstorm, and must fight both the elements and the Walkers to make it back to the prison.

There is no official word yet on which characters will make the trip to Maine, but since Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) and Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) were both present for the announcement, this Modern Philosopher assumes it will be a Rick and Daryl heavy episode.

“I am over the moon at the idea of doing an episode of live television,” Lincoln admitted after the big announcement.  “While I love doing the show, it can become quite monotonous after a time.  The rush of doing a live broadcast with real Zombies coming at me…now that is every actor’s dream.  I just hope I don’t become so giddy that I muddle it all up by falling back into my British accent.”

As for those live Zombies, AMC plans to film in the North Woods where the Zombie population is not as dense and can be easily controlled by Maine Zombie Hunters and Maine Zombie Census Bureau Agents, who will always be just off camera to ensure that the actors are never in danger.

“This is huge news for film and television production in Maine,” Nancy Kovacs, a Governor LePage spokesperson told this Modern Philosopher.  “When a hit show like ‘The Walking Dead’ is willing to shoot here, that’s going to get the attention of other production companies.  AMC loved the incentives we were able to offer, a big one of which was the live Zombies we could provide to the production.”

“I am {bleeped} stoked about coming up here to not only do the show live, but to also kill real {bleeped} Zombies,” Norman Reedus, aka fan favorite Daryl Dixon told me excitedly.  “You can bet your sweet {bleeped} that I’ll be spending a ton of time working on my crossbow skills between now and when we return to film.  This is why I became an actor!”

AMC and the State of Maine will to do their best to keep the exact location of the shoot a secret, but it’s going to be impossible to keep the date from anyone with access to an episode guide.  Mainers are asked to be respectful, to keep in mind that it will be a live shoot, and to remember that Zombies will be in the area and it’s likely that the lights and noise of the production might attract a large herd.  As a result, anyone who does come to watch should make sure they are properly armed.

I am a big fan of the show, so I am thrilled with the news, and am looking forward to being on set.  I’m going to lock my press pass in a safe and maybe even post guards to make sure no one takes that.

I hope that Maggie is written into the episode because she is my favorite character, and I think Lauren Cohan is a wonderful actress.  If she does come to Maine, I will try to snag her for an interview.

“The Walking Dead” airs Sunday nights at 9:00 on AMC.  For more details on the live episode, you can visit the show’s official site on AMCTV.com.