'Fear the Walking Dead' Plot Spoilers: Executive Producer Talks Nick's Role in the Exposition of the Epidemic
After months of teasers and spoilers, AMC's "Fear the Walking Dead" finally premiered on Sunday, August 23, and true to what it promised, the show offered a chilling and intense glimpse of what really happened prior to the post-apocalyptic events of "The Walking Dead."
Executive producer Dave Erickson, who recently dropped by to chat with Entertainment Weekly, divulged some of his thoughts on the way that the onset of the zombie epidemic was unveiled through the eyes of Frank Dillane's Nick.
"That was actually a Robert Kirkman pitch originally, and what we wanted to play with in the pilot and then in the first season was this sense of apprehension and dread and paranoia," the EP revealed to EW.
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According to the showrunner, choosing Nick, who is a junkie, gave the show the freedom to play the concept of "did he really see what he believes he saw?" in the minds of the audience.
For those who missed the pilot, Nick did try to understand what has been going on. In fact, he has to contact his drug supplier to ask him about the substance he took in. He also told Travis (Cliff Curtis) about the church incident but the latter didn't believe him right away.
"…we were able to play out this idea where the audience knows that what Nick saw is true, but no one else does, and I think that was part of the challenge and the fun of the pilot," Erickson went on to say (via EW).
Speaking more about the actor, the showrunner commended Dillane for "killing" the part of Nick.
"Frank Dillane is an amazing actor and I think he's a very serious actor, but it was true with him, and it was true with Cliff and with Kim and with Alycia — they all really embody these characters, and the great thing about Nick is there is a vulnerability," he said (via EW).
Meanwhile, the synopsis for the second episode titled "So Close, Yet So Far" with airs next Sunday, August 30, was released via the AMC website. It says that "while Madison (Kim Dickens) struggles to keep Nick (Dillane) from crippling withdrawal, Travis (Curtis) ventures out to find his son before the city of Los Angeles falls."
