Scott Gimple, Chief Content Officer for The Walking Dead franchise and showrunner for the series’ spinoff The Ones Who Live, is looking to Taylor Swift for a little inspiration as the new installment of the beloved world comes to life on AMC.
In a new interview with NPR, released the day after the new series—which is set to shed light on Rick Grimes’ and his wife Michonne’s whereabouts—premiered, the creative is reflecting on the superstar’s whirlwind career as proof that it’s never too late to launch new media—or for new fans to appear.
The Walking Dead, of course, first premiered on AMC on Halloween 2010, closing in on 14 years ago. It went on for 11 seasons and led to a number of spinoffs, including Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: Dead City, and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, which may leave some wondering if the remaining parts of the franchise are dead men walking, so to speak.
But, as Gimple pointed out, “things change” in the cyclical world we live in. “There was a short moment in the culture [where people reacted to] Taylor Swift,” he said, noting how “they would roll their eyes and [say she’s] singing about her ex-boyfriend again,” until “people kind of understood what she was doing.”
Swift, of course, very publicly went from a mass-cancellation trend and disappearing from sight to becoming one of the most-watched performers this year.
Gimple admitted that people aren’t necessarily “rolling their eyes at” the franchise, but when you’ve been around as long as the show—or Taylor Swift—”things go in cycles.”
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