Andrew Chambliss is a co-showrunner (along with Ian Goldberg) of Fear the Walking Dead. In this interview with amc.com, he talks about the walkers in this new world, Strand's new home and new look, and why Will is such a pivotal figure in the first episode of Season 7.

Q: I've talked to some of the actors about wearing hazmat suits and gas masks this season, but, from your perspective, what were the challenges of navigating a post-nuclear fallout landscape?

A: When we made the decision in Season 6 to launch a missile and have warheads detonate, we knew it was going to be a big challenge to completely recreate the zombie apocalypse as the nuclear zombie apocalypse. It was something that, even when we were finishing Season 6, we started working with our production team on how to figure out the best way to pull this off. And we won't lie—it was a big challenge and we were asking a lot of everyone and we are very lucky that we have a crew who are such passionate filmmakers. The way we were able to pull it off was that every department really embraced the challenge and said, "What can I do in my area to help achieve this complete revamp of the apocalypse?" 

It started with our art department. Our amazing production designer, Bernardo Trujillo, figuring out what locations we had at our disposal in Texas. Finding things that were practical, and then working to enhance them to make them look like they came from a fallout. We did that with our special effects department, doing things like covering landscape with ash, blotting out the sun and the sky with smoke, creating this haze. That was done in conjunction with our director of photography, figuring out how they would light the scenes, how they would shoot it, what kind of filter would be on it. 

Our wardrobe department had a huge hand in this too. They designed wardrobe and figured out narrative ways that all these characters, who are in very different situations, would be able to create the means to protect themselves in that environment. And then of course there’s our props department... The list goes on and on. It really was every department stepping up and working in conjunction to create this cohesive look. And, yeah, we're excited. We think this season the show looks as beautiful as it ever has and we're really proud of the work everyone's done.

Q: From speaking with the cast, I understand that it even got down to the tiny details like trying to figure out which area would be okay, in terms of the radiation level, for people to take off their gas masks.

A: Yes, we did a lot of research into actual fallout, how radiation spreads. There are maps online where you can put in locations and you can see with the weather patterns how far the fallout would spread. We used that to create a map of the area of Texas our characters are in, so we knew that they were hemmed in by it and they weren't able to escape it. It was fun to dip our toes into the reality of it, and then use that to help create this fictionalized version of it.

Q: You definitely don't shy away from a challenge.

A: It was a big challenge. If we knew how much of a challenge it was going to be when we decided to have a beached nuclear submarine on the show, we wouldn't have done it. (laughs)

Q: Can you talk about the new look of the walkers in this new world? Is it one of your many jobs to find new ways to make walkers look more gruesome?

A: Yeah, it’s a fun part of the job coming up with ways to make the walkers new and interesting, after seven seasons of this show and 11 seasons of The Walking Dead. At the beginning of the season, we had a meeting with Greg Nicotero and [his] KNB [special effects company] to explain narratively what we were hoping to go for and we worked together coming up with these designs. We decided there would be walkers who were damaged by the blast, so we have lots of walkers who are burnt on one side and intact on the other side, some bent over—all those kinds of fun things. Then there would be the walkers who were people who died from radiation exposure, so they'd be covered by radiation burns, boils, and pus, and we got to go very gruesome with that. It was fun to talk about the story and then just spitball with the makeup effects team and come up with all sorts of fun stuff to do. 

Q: What went into the production design of Strand's Tower? I know we saw some of this set in 616 but it's more impressive now. 

A: The actual location that we have is a tower in Austin, Texas. We had an idea of what we wanted at the end of Season 6 when we found that location, and then between Seasons 6 and 7 we worked with our art department in expanding Strand's story. We imagined how we could build this tower out, how this little oasis from the nuclear fallout could be built into a home that people would want to live in. One of the things that we started to establish in Season 6 was the idea that Strand was living in this tower with Howard, who's a historian who would start to fill this place with artifacts he was trying to save. There’s also the narrative thread of Strand wanting to rewrite his history and create a new history. So we really wanted to lean into that. We wanted to create a place that, while it feels new because it was an unfinished tower with raw concrete floors, there was an element of history there. We wanted to create a place that felt both new and safe, but also had a lot of historical texture and felt lived in.

Q: In addition to being new and safe, it's also very beautiful and has an elegant look to it. 

A: A lot of that is just leaning into Strand's character as someone who enjoys the finer things. So we added a lot of art that, in terms of the story, we imagine he had sent people out to collect. We added nice clothes, all those things that Strand would want to surround himself with, really the best things that he could find out in the world.

Q: Strand’s “uniform” this season makes him look so dapper, and there’s a military element to it. It pairs well with what he goes through this season.

A: That was a decision that we made with Colman and from conversations with our costume designer. We created a look that felt very curated by Strand because he does want to create this image of himself as a leader, as someone who's going to be remembered. On the character's part, it was a deliberate choice to create that feeling so when he’s looked at people say, "He's in charge.” He wants to be someone who people will remember for a very long time.

Q: Why does the Tower have a chance of becoming a safe refuge in this post-apocalyptic world when so many other communities in The Walking Dead Universe haven't succeeded?

A: The thing we wanted to lean into was that this Tower was singularly Strand's creation.  Everything he did in the Tower—in the way that it was run and the things he filled it with and the people that he let in—were all based on decisions Strand made. It’s all about Strand leaning into his instincts and trusting his gut. We wanted to draw a stark contrast between the way things have happened in prior seasons, particularly the way Morgan had tried to build communities. What Strand really did was eliminate the weakness that he thought he identified in the way Morgan did things—allowing weakness and allowing human connection to get in the way. That’s what Strand has tried to remove from the Tower, and it's worked so far. 

Q: In Episode 1, why did you decide to put much of the focus on a new character in this episode? Does Will serve as a way for the audience to understand the extent of how the world has changed?

A: There were a couple reasons we decided to enter the season through a new character's point of view. One of them was that we really wanted to see this world through new eyes, and we wanted Will to be an avatar for the audience. It was a way that we could quickly put the audience in Will's shoes and have them understand just how hard it is to live in this world. 

The other reason we did it, is that we wanted someone new to see Strand who wasn't familiar with him in the way that all the other characters on the show are. Someone who could see him for what he's created in this moment. Obviously, we realize that's a lot more complicated, and Will may know more about Strand than he initially lets on, but that was the intention behind it. Ultimately, we learn that Will is connected to Alicia, and that connection reveals some weaknesses in Strand, so it is more complicated. But yes, it was all about creating that point of connection for the audience.

Q: Can you speak a bit about the relationship between Strand and Alicia? They were allies at one point, but then he pushed her away. Why does she loom so large in Strand's psyche?

A: I think Alicia and Strand's relationship has a lot to do with their history together. They’ve both known each other since the first season of the show. They’ve both been through a lot and lost a lot of people. In many ways, Strand really views Alicia as the closest thing he has to family, and I don't think he likes the fact that he has this soft spot for her. As we see in Episode 1, he views that as a weakness, and he tries to engineer things so Alicia will never come back and get in his way with what he's trying to do in the Tower. But, as Strand learns over the course of the first half of the season, it's not as easy as he thinks, and his connection to Alicia runs deeper than I think he would have imagined.

Q: Colman Domingo, Lennie James, and now this season Alycia Debnam-Carey have all directed episodes of the show. How does the opportunity for an actor to direct arise, and what are the advantages of having one of your actors direct?

A: It's always exciting when the cast express interest in expanding their creative role on the show, and we're lucky enough that we have actors who are very engaged. We have Lennie, Colman, and Alycia, who all at various times have approached us about directing, and we always want to make it happen for people who want to expand what they do. It’s an interesting journey to take with a cast member who, in all three of their cases, have spent many, many seasons in front of the camera on the show. They're familiar with how the show works from the actor's perspective, and then it's just so exciting to see them then step into this completely different role and see every other aspect of how the show is made. They always joke with us that it's an eye-opening experience to see just how much goes into producing a show, especially a show that's this big and complicated. They've all approached it with a ton of enthusiasm and have rolled up their sleeves and really become students of filmmaking, embracing every aspect of it. 

What's great about someone who's spent so much time in front of the camera, is they know the characters, they know the world, and they know how to get great performances out of everyone. They also have relationships with the entire crew because they've spent so much time with them. So they’re able to use those relationships and the trust they've built with all the different members of the different departments, and lean on them as they learn how to dip their hands in all these different areas. Stepping into the director role is not an easy task. There’s so much that you have to keep in your head. The vision of how you want things to be, while you manage so many different aspects of the production. Actors have a particular talent for getting great performances out of the rest of the cast when they're directing, and it's because they speak their language. They know what they want as actors, and they're able to provide that for the rest of the cast. It’s a fun experience and it's great to see people creatively grow and do new things.

 

 

New episodes of Fear the Walking Dead air on Sundays at 9/8c on AMC. Full episodes are available to stream on amc.com (with a cable provider login), the AMC apps for mobile and devices, and a week early on AMC+. AMC+ is available at amcplus.com or through the new AMC+ app available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku. AMC+ can also be accessed through a variety of providers, including AppleTV, Prime Video Channels, DirectTV, Dish, Roku Channel, Sling, and Xfinity. Sign up for AMC+ now.

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