Sunday night will bring the season 3 finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead, and just in case you were not already pumped enough, we’ve got a few exclusive behind the scenes images from the episode to whet your appetite…FOR BLOOD! Sorry, got a bit carried away there. In any event, feel free to feast on this. (Click through all three pages to see all the images.) READ FULL STORY »

Image Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Last Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead featured one of the show’s most heartbreaking scenes ever as Daryl Dixon found the brother he had finally been reunited with — Merle — hunched over and eating human flesh as a zombie. Not only did Daryl find his big brother dead (or undead, as it were) but he then had to rekill him to put him out of his zombie misery. Now, the man who plays Daryl, Norman Reedus, reveals how he used the loss of his father to prep for the scene, what it all means for the future of his character, and how the cast said goodbye to the man behind Merle, Michael Rooker. He also says to get ready for one insane season finale on Sunday night.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Tell me your reaction when you first read the episode or heard what was going down?
NORMAN REEDUS: I was bummed to see Rooker go. He’s such a strong character and such a good actor. He brought so much to the show so I was bummed to see him leave. I would have liked to have explored that relationship a bit more. And he’s always fun to play scenes with so I was bummed about that. I’m bummed every time someone leaves the show, to be honest. READ FULL STORY »

Image Credit: Blake Tyers/AMC

Usually when a TV program changes showrunners it is a sign of struggling show making a last ditch effort to gain traction and ratings. Which is what makes the case of The Walking Dead so curious. The show smashed ratings in its first season, and then AMC dismissed the man who smashed those ratings, Frank Darabont. The network promoted Darabont’s number two, Glen Mazzara, to the top spot for the back end of season 2. Mazzara was credited with getting the zombie drama back on track — after what some saw as a creative rut at the start of season 2 — and the ratings and reviews have only improved during his stint at the top spot. However, it was announced at the end of 2012 that Mazzara too would be leaving the show at the end of season 3 due to creative differences. Exec-producer Scott Gimple will become the new showrunner for season 4, which begins filming on May 6.

How has all this change at the top among the key players in Los Angeles impacted the actors working on set down in Atlanta? I asked Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon, that very question. “I remember with Frank we were like, ‘What?’” says Reedus. “That was the first big hit because Frank brought us there. So that was a big deal, but Glenn was Frank’s No. 2 so we didn’t see a new person. Then Scott is Glenn’s No. 2 so we’re not seeing any new stuff. It’s interesting because it brings the cast together — like this is ours and we’re going to fight for it.” READ FULL STORY »