The Walking Dead Update: A Superbowl Commercial, A New Showrunner and Yet Another Sneak Peek

by Michele Pearson:

Fans following Norman Reedus on Twitter got a special sneak peak at the Super Bowl Commercial starring Reedus and his Walking Dead co-stars Steven Yeun and Lauren Cohan.  Starting with a picture of his signature Daryl Dixon winged leather vest, Reedus tweeted last Friday, Jan 8^th, “shooting Super Bowl commercial la. happytoseemydarylclothes!”  Reedus also tweeted several pictures from the set (via @wwwbigbaldhead), including the zombie “extras” and Daryl’s crossbow.

Photo Credit: @wwwbigbaldhead and Instagram

Later that day, the news came out that it was possible that, despite paying $4 Million for the Super Bowl commercial placement, there was a possibility that the ad might not be considered “family friendly”.  Not sure whether it was in response to that criticism or not but Reedus tweeted the link to a YouTube video of the commercial.  My personal opinion?  If this commercial is deemed not family friendly and therefore not airable, then I want to know how much GoDaddy is shelling out over and above the $4 Million price tag to get their ads on the air.  Anyway, according to the Business Insider the spot featuring the cast of the most popular show on cable television is actually part of Time Warner Cable’s “Enjoy Better” campaign.  Regardless of what the commercial will be advertising, fans of Norman Reedus and the Walking Dead will be able to get their much needed Daryl Dixon fix as they wait for the show’s return on February 10^th.

In other news, fans of the show have been in a lather over the firing of popular showrunner Glen Mazzara and have speculated over the reason behind his firing as well as his possible replacement.  Today, the rumor mill blew up again when it was announced that Scott M. Gimple, currently a Supervising Producer on the show, is in talks to step in as showrunner for season four.  Gimple wrote several episodes of “Walking Dead” including Hounded and Pretty Much Dead Already, both excellent and critical episodes in the series.  Some early criticism of Gimple’s credibility is his credit as writer of the less than stellar film, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengence.  Of course, you have to look at the fact that he was one of three “co-writers” on that screenplay so who knows what actually happened before the written word was translated to film as the final product.  I will do my best to reserve judgment until filming on season four begins.

Finally, a new promo for the “The Suicide King” came out today.  We catch a few glimpses of Daryl and Merle in the arena, Daryl outside of Woodbury, the mangled eye of the Governor and Tyreese telling Rick “Anything to contribute.”  I am looking forward to the remainder of this season and this promo just feeds my fangirl fire!  Check it out!  I know for me, February 10^th can’t get here fast enough!

Michele Pearson is a contributor for DarkMedia. She covers Vampire Diaries and any other films, books, etc that come her way. She reads everything from Lonesome Dove to Game of Thrones and loves epic tv series like Doctor Who and Star Trek: TNG. Michele also loves a good horror film and was able to channel that love as a judge for Shriekfest 2012. Follow her on Twitter at @GirlInRowB and check out her blog at http://www.girlinrowb.com.

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