'The Walking Dead' season 5: Gale Anne Hurd talks 'most ambitious episodes'

On October 5 Entertainment Weekly reported that the upcoming fifth season of "The Walking Dead" will be the most violent season yet, including the most intense episodes ever created for the show. Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd recently mentioned that everything from the action to the character development will be kicked up a notch this season. The new sixteen episode season will introduce story lines from the comic book series and new characters.

Chris Hardwick
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Hurd revealed that Rick is returning to his leadership role, although being put in the train car will

make him more ruthless. The first few episodes will entail the prison survivors escaping the train car and leaving Terminus after a major battle. Hurd revealed that the new season will more "action set pieces" and the characters will have more "emotional weight" to deal with each episode.

Abraham Ford, Rosita Espinosa, and Dr. Eugene Porter are still heading to Washington D.C. this season in order to find a cure for the walker outbreak. That storyline was first explored in season one with the CDC trip to Atlanta, but now the prison group is part of a larger mission to help mankind. Everyone will be reunited in a big group again, so the new episodes won't include the separated story lines.

Fans will be excited to learn that the series will be venturing to new locations, including several in more urban areas. Hurd mentioned that the walker threats of urban life that Rick encountered in Atlanta will become a problem again. Beth, who was kidnapped last season, will have her storyline teased all season although she appears to be in a hospital.

Screenrant.com revealed on October 3 that Gareth, played by actor Andrew J. West, will be a recurring character for season five. Gareth is the young leader of Terminus who the people look to for guidance, and he tortures Glenn, Rick and Daryl in the first few episodes. There will be tension between Rick and Abraham initially, and not everyone will accept Tara as a part of the group since she knew the Governor.

"The Walking Dead" fifth season premiere, entitled "No Sanctuary," will air on Sunday, October 12 at 9 p.m. on AMC. The first eight episodes of the season will air in 2014, with the final eight airing in early 2015. At least one new character, played by actor Tyler Williams, has been confirmed to appear in the new season.


Courtney Jones - Examiner