Daryl Dixon is a man of many talents, and he finds himself way out of his element on The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon.
TV Fanatic got to speak with cast members Anne Charrier (Genet), Eriq Ebouaney (Fallou), Louis Puech Scigliuzzi (Laurent), and Romain Levi (Codron), as well as EP/Director Daniel Percival about the new series.
Check out or preview of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 1.
Daryl and His New Enemies
Charrier plays Genet, a powerful woman intent on making big moves.
However, Daryl’s arrival in France scuppers her plans, with Charrier declaring that he “f–ked up.”
If you watch The Walking Dead online, you know Daryl has had his fair share of enemies over the years.
Genet is different from other villains because she has power, numbers, and influence.
Anne says that Genet isn’t the type to let people get in her way and reveals that he messed up an operation she’d been working on for three years.
“She cannot stand that,” she added, revealing that her character knows she has to set an example.
“She’s making examples of the rest of the people that follow her,” Anne teases.
Another person who makes it their mission to locate Daryl is Codron, a mercenary who has a big bust-up with our favorite character early into the spinoff.
Romain characterizes Codron’s relationship with Daryl as an obsession.
“He thinks about him all the time. Every morning, every day, he’s thinking about strategies to get him,” he said with a laugh.
New Communities & Allies
Daryl meets Laurent early into the series and is tasked with transporting the youngster to another community.
“The journey is very challenging, and they meet plenty of people,” Louis said before saying, “Not them two,” pointing at Anne and Romain.
“They get in our way,” Louis laughs before adding that the mission will change all characters by the end.
Fallou leads a community Daryl meets on his journey.
Eriq says that the community is “self-sufficient and ready to fight.”
“They’re warriors at the same time,” he adds
Different Ways of Surviving
The series features many distinct differences from its predecessors, including the undead.
“Zombies are different in France,” Romain declares, adding that there are different ways to kill them.
“We have to be very careful with these ones.”
Louis says that thanks to all of the buildings at their disposal in France, we won’t see as much camping on TWD: Daryl Dixon as in the other series.
Ushering In a New Era of The Walking Dead Universe
Daniel had been in communication with AMC about several projects in the past. He said the creatives and network were looking for someone new to the franchise who brought a “European sensibility to the show.”
“I mean that from a cinematic and filmmaking tradition that was hopefully going to bring something fresh,” he added.
“I don’t think anyone quite knew what they were looking for. They just wanted something that felt distinct.”
“The challenge was to be able to do that and still honor the original series and not go crazy,” he added.
The importance was finding the balance between familiarity and new territory regarding the content and the aesthetic.
The scripts were the draw for Daniel, declaring the first 15 minutes of the premiere to be “pure cinema.”
“There’s not a breath of dialogue except what Daryl says into a recording machine, you know, four lines, and you’re off telling an entire narrative cinematically.”
Daniel said the biggest challenge was capturing a world and something fresh in a genre that’s been so familiar.
Check out the trailer for TWD: Daryl Dixon below.
Return to TV Fanatic for a full run-down of the series premiere.
We’ll also have another interview delving into the differences between the U.S. and France’s outbreak early next week.
Are you ready for the next chapter?
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
:quality(85):upscale()/2023/05/11/976/n/1922564/782262e2645d6b967847b4.74342194_.png)
