Whenever the entertainment world is ready to return to work in a post-pandemic world, things will be very different according to The Walking Dead's producer Greg Nicotero. The coronavirus has brought the industry to a standstill, with productions across the world shut down in the name of safety and social distancing. One by one, states - including Georgia, where Walking Dead and many other productions film - are beginning to reopen their economies, but the world of entertainment has yet to fully resume while adjusting to the new normal.
The Walking Dead season 10 ended early with "The Tower," the 15th episode of its 16-episode season order. There are plans to air the original season finale on AMC later in 2020, once the crew is able to go back to work and finish production on the episode.
Walking Dead producer Greg Nicotero is now looking towards the future of the show and the industry at large. In comments made this week to Creepshow series - hinted that things will be very different on sets when filming resumes across the industry. Among some of his suggestions, Nicotero believes the number of people on sets will see a dramatic reduction and meals will be served differently. Read Nicotero's full comments, below.
It’s going to be very interesting in of seeing how productions work and how things that we are so accustomed to doing on sets will change, and will change pretty dramatically. The number of people you have on set will probably diminish, which might mean it will take a little bit longer, where instead of having 60 people on set you may have 35 or 40 people on set. I know the industry is working towards some sort of industry-wide guideline in of are we going to do box lunches and nobody takes a break and you shoot for 10 hours and that’s it. No one’s really going to know, so it’s going to be a unique situation and definitely a brand-new world.
Nicotero's primary show would definitely be affected by those kinds of changes. The Walking Dead historically has a large crew, with plenty of effects and stunts requiring the expertise of many. Beyond that, the show also features a large cast, as there are always extras on set to play the multitude of zombies. There's no doubt the long-running program will be forced to make many difficult choices as they adjust to the new realities of filming amid the coronavirus pandemic.
For now, casts and crews can only look forward as they hope to begin work on their shows and movies again soon. The coronavirus pandemic has decimated the entertainment industry, with unemployment and furloughs becoming commonplace with no end in sight. It's possible some of those jobs will never come back, especially if productions like The Walking Dead are forced to reduce the number of people on set. Getting people back to work in the coming months will be a priority for the industry.
Source: EW