TV Talk: McCandless native Greg Nicotero directs ‘The Walking Dead’ series finale
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Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week.
Things were not looking great for the humans in the penultimate episode of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” They were surrounded after zombies breached the perimeter of the Commonwealth just as Daryl (Norman Reedus), Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and company were preparing to take out Pamela Milton (Laila Robins), who directed a security officer to protect the wealthy portions of the Commonwealth and leave the commoners to fend off walkers on their own.
“It usually doesn’t look good in moments like this,” said McCandless native Greg Nicotero, who has been with the show since the start and directed the series finale, airing at 9 p.m. Sunday on AMC and AMC+. “I think it’s pretty safe to say that some will fare better than others.”
Nicotero, who has directed almost 40 episodes of the series (roughly two seasons’ worth of episodes), is currently in France directing Reedus in one of several “Walking Dead” spin-off series that will continue the stories of some characters, including a series that features Negan and Maggie in New York and a limited series that will bring back Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira).
Though the finale will not set the stage for the spin-offs, the fact that fans know some characters will survive for the sake of these spin-offs was one of the challenges producers faced as they sat down to plot out the ending of the original series.
“You want to keep the stakes high, and knowing there are these other shows certainly affects some of our key characters,” Nicotero acknowledged during a Zoom interview Nov. 14. “What we really wanted to do going into it was create a satisfying end to this particular story and then lead the audience to a place where they know that there is a bigger world out there that is available to our characters to pursue different storylines.”
Nicotero said he felt the pressure of directing the finale, which resulted in a lot of work on the script and collaboration with the actors “to make sure that everyone was feeling what they deserved to feel after having committed, some of them, nearly a decade to the show.”
The penultimate episode featured callbacks to the show’s beginning via a scene with Rick’s young daughter, Judith (Cailey Fleming). While “The Walking Dead” already did some specific references to the pilot in Rick’s last episode in season nine, Nicotero said the extended finale (about 60 minutes before commercials) pays tribute to the show’s origins and characters living and dead.
“It’s safe to say that the finale will have callbacks that will play into just the overall expanse of where the show started and where the show is ending,” he said. “You can’t really wrap up a show like this after 12 years without paying tribute to the people that helped get us here. That would be disingenuous.”
One character who made it through at least the penultimate episode, Max, is played by another “TWD” stakeholder with Pittsburgh ties: Actress Margot Bingham, who grew up in Green Tree the daughter of Craig Bingham, a 1980s Steelers linebacker, and Lynne Bingham, a real estate agent with Howard Hanna. Nicotero said they bonded over Pittsburgh almost immediately.
“I’d say within 30 seconds,” Nicotero said. “That first day I met her and we were talking, and she has this little Steelers tattoo behind her ear. That was the beginning of a fantastic friendship we continue to enjoy to this day.”
Even as the original “Walking Dead” ends, Nicotero continues to play in the “Dead”-iverse, directing the Daryl spin-off and producing the Maggie and Negan show.
“There’s always a place for me in the universe,” Nicotero said, noting original showrunner Frank Darabont brought him on board to develop the show’s special makeup effects at least a year before production began. Nicotero then worked his way up the ladder: second unit director to producer to executive producer to producing director.
“I’ve been sleeves-rolled-up since the beginning,” Nicotero said before holding up a hand. “See? I have blood on my hands from (filming) today.”
Before traveling to Europe to film the Daryl spin-off, Nicotero shepherded production of the fourth season of “Creepshow” for Shudder, with several episodes featuring his hometown ties.
“(Pittsburgh native) Tom Atkins is starring in one of the episodes,” Nicotero said. “There’s several episodes set in Pittsburgh, and there’s one that really, really, without a doubt, pays tribute to the (George A.) Romero legacy.”
As for Nicotero’s proposed movie about the making of “Night of the Living Dead” and a proposed competing limited series on the same subject from “Dead” co-producer Russ Streiner and “Dead” co-writer John Russo, Nicotero said he and Streiner are talking. (Streiner confirmed they have spoken: “I have great respect for (Greg) and his work, but we have not agreed on a script deal for what John Russo and I have written.”)
“We really adore each other, and we’re trying to find a way to sort of work things out,” Nicotero said, noting his making of “Night of the Living Dead” project with Pittsburgh native manager/producer Jimmy Miller is moving forward. “We’re interviewing writers. … We’re committed to telling that story. And I think it’s a story that needs to be told.”