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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, August 21, 2015 2 By Cassie Dresch TV Media I f you're one of the almost 16 million people who tuned into the season 5 finale of "The Walking Dead" back in March, you're probably itching for a new episode of the wildly successful horror drama (I know I am). While we're still a couple months out from the premiere of season 6 — Oct. 11, for those keeping track! — fans of the AMC thriller are in for a treat. "Fear the Walking Dead," the much-anticipated companion series to "The Walking Dead," premieres its first of six episodes Sunday, Aug. 23, on AMC. It's difficult not to be excited when talking about this com- panion series, as it hails from many of the same minds be- hind the original TV series. "The Walking Dead" franchise creator Robert Kirkman is also helming this version, which starts off as a prequel, along with executive producers Greg Nicotero, David Alpert, Gale Anne Hurd — who all have worked on "The Walking Dead" — and newcomer to the franchise Dave Erickson, who serves as showrunner. It's important to note that while "Fear the Walking Dead" takes place in the same uni- verse as its counterpart, the two shows will be vastly differ- ent. Where "The Walking Dead" sees main character Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln, "Love Actually," 2003) awaken from a coma long after the zombie apocalypse has begun, this series showcases the very beginnings of the worldwide catastrophe. "I think more than anything else, 'Fear the Walking Dead' will get to show people coming to grips with society crumbling around them in a way we mostly skipped over on 'The Walking Dead,'" Kirkman said in an interview with the "New York Times." One thing that was skipped over in the original series that Erickson calls "jarring" is just how little the zombies look like the classic, half-decayed mon- strosities they later become, and it's something that will play into the early parts of the season. Not only will good storytell- ing be key to making "Fear the Walking Dead" live up to its predecessor, the acting will also have to be top notch, and the cast for the companion se- ries boasts some strong talent. New Zealand actor Cliff Cur- tis ("Live Free or Die Hard," 2007) stars as Travis Manawa, a high school English teacher whose son, Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie, "Almost Kings," 2010), resents him for divorc- ing his mother, Liza (Elizabeth Rodriguez, "Miami Vice," 2006). Curtis has won quite a few awards in his native coun- try, including four New Zealand Film and TV Awards. Kim Dickens of "Sons of An- archy," "House of Cards" and "Treme" fame stars as Madi- son Clark, Travis's fiancée and single mom to Nick (Frank Dil- lane, "Sense8") and Alicia (Aly- cia Debnam-Carey, "The 100"). Madison is the guidance coun- selor at the same school where Travis teaches, and she strug- gles to connect with her chil- dren. Dickens has received ac- colades for her roles in the TV series "Deadwood" as well as the 2014 psychological thriller "Gone Girl." We're still a ways out from the return of the critically ac- claimed horror goliath "The Walking Dead," but fans of the comic book and TV franchises are in for a treat courtesy of AMC. "Fear the Walking Dead," the much-anticipated companion series to the origi- nal, is set to introduce the first of six episodes when it pre- mieres Aug. 23, on AMC. Robynwood Home 2 x 2 coverstory Cliff Curtis and Kim Dickens as seen in "Fear the Walking Dead" Dead come walking Much-anticipated 'Fear the Walking Dead' kicks off on AMC By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Can you tell me where they film "The Middle"? The Hecks' house looks like it is on a real street. A: Series creators Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline would be gratified to hear you say that because they put a lot of work into making the show look authentic. "It's really funny that now [Orson] feels like a real place, like it has traditions," Heisler told RTV6, ABC's Indi- anapolis, Indiana, affiliate. "It has schools and mascots, but we just made it up." The show's fictional town of Orson, Indiana, is based on the real Indiana town of Jasper, which is just a few hours away from Heline's hometown of Muncie. It's all a trick, though: "The Middle" is actually filmed on a studio lot in Los Angeles. GeekDad.com blogger Matt Blum took a tour of the set and said: "It was really easy to believe that a family actu- ally lived there." On the tour, he was able to talk to set director Julie Fan- ton, who said that she does a lot of her shopping for the show at Target and Kohl's, stores that a lot of families are familiar with, in order to boost the authenticity. "It's a love letter to the Midwest," said Heline. Q: Who voices the youngest daughter on "Bob's Burgers"? She sounds familiar. A: The lispy and occasionally shrill voice you're recog- nizing is that of rising comedian Kristen Schaal. If she sounds familiar, it's probably because her voice has become more famous than her face. Though she's an occasional on-screen guest on "The Daily Show" and stars on the Fox sitcom "The Last Man on Earth," she's actually been doing far more voice work lately. On top of her regular spot on "Bob's Burgers," Schaal also voices one of the lead characters in Disney's "Gravity Falls" and is a regular guest on the critically acclaimed Netflix series "BoJack Horseman." On the big screen, she's done voices in the 2013 hits "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" and "Despicable Me 2," as well as the equally high-profile "Toy Story 3" and "Shrek Forever After," both released in 2010. (She seems to specialize in livening up franchises at risk of be- coming tired.) Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. 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