It's a relatively new phenomenon for high-profile TV series to be the subject of intense observation for the sake of providing informative leaks to people unburdened by a hatred of spoilers. So it's understandable that AMC and The Walking Dead's crew are extremely frustrated by the frequent spoiler hunts from fans near the production locations. And while star Josh McDermitt isn't overjoyed that the show needs to go to extremes to keep the secrets intact, he's aware that this is a negative side effect of the very positive popularity the drama has earned. Here's how he put it.
Does every show need to do that? No, because not every show is The Walking Dead. What if I went to your job and I was like 'Hey, uh let me take this project that you're working on and just, it's not even finished and just go tell everybody. Let me give it to your boss.' You wouldn't want that. That's the other thing man, it's like, we could be on a show that people don't give a shit about, so it's kind of a double edged sword. It's great, you know.
That's a pretty refreshing angle to look at it from, considering how blanketed the negativity has been from all involved about those sharing spoilery information to the outside world. You rarely hear anyone at The Walking Dead (or Game of Thrones) look at this neo-tabloid culture as a symptom of a triumph worthy of extreme celebration. I doubt anyone is out there busting their balls to figure out what's happening on the next episode of Sleepy Hollow or American Crime, because while those shows do well enough in the ratings to keep them on the air, no one is fooling themselves by saying either is one of the most popular shows on TV.
Don't get me wrong. Before saying this, Josh McDermitt told TMZ that the efforts of spoiler-hounds definite makes their jobs harder when filming, especially in terms of what stipulations have to be set. So addressing the show's massive success doesn't mean all is forgiven where the actor is concerned. But he also "gets it," because he was a fan of the show before he got cast, too, so he understands wanting to know what happens. And considering this is the gig putting the bread and butter on his table, that's about as lenient a stance as anyone could expect.
You can check out his full answer below.
AMC has really been buckling down on keeping the cliffhanger reveal a mystery until Season 7 premieres, going so far as to film scenes inside of closed-off soundstages and mixing up the order of episode productions to mess with those keeping track of actors coming and going. It's rumored that multiple versions of Negan's big murder have been filmed, and the network has reportedly threatened legal action against a particular spoiler site should they offer up any guesses on Negan's victim. I wonder if anyone told Robert Kirkman to keep mum about his own info-dumps on TV.
Season 7 of The Walking Dead will premiere in October, but you can read about everything we know so far. And if you're interested in everything premiering before then, check out our summer TV schedule.
