One of the few characters on The Walking Dead who has survived all the way since the second season is Maggie, played by Lauren Cohan. Maggie has endured everything from the loss of her home to the deaths of her family to literally watching her husband beaten to death with a baseball bat in front of her, and she's still managing to go strong as leader of Hilltop. Unfortunately, we now have to wonder if the end is nigh for Maggie due to Lauren Cohan landing a brand new show on a completely different network. Cohan will star in the pilot of an ABC series.
Lauren Cohan's future on The Walking Dead has been up in the air for a while now due to the fact that her contract with the show will expire at the end of Season 8. Negotiations to this point have not resulted in a new contract, and despite current showrunner Scott Gimple's optimism that a deal could be worked out, Cohan has been courting offers for new pilots. She evidently found what she's been looking for in a new project with the pilot for an ABC show called Whiskey Cavalier.
In Whiskey Cavalier, Lauren Cohan will play a smart and fearless CIA agent by the name of Francesca "Frankie" Trowbridge, who is better known in certain circles by her codename of "Fiery Tribune." Frankie teams up with FBI Agent Will Chase (played by Scott Foley) in the aftermath of an emotional breakup. The duo must work together to lead a team of spies from both of their agencies, all while dealing with office politics, friendship, and even romance. The pilot will be a dramedy running for an hour and hailing from Bill Lawrence of Scrubs, Dave Hemingson, and Warner Bros. TV.
Basically, Lauren Cohan's new show will keep her in action but take her away from any zombies. If Whiskey Cavalier is ordered to series, Cohan will be a regular, which could bode badly for her status on The Walking Dead. That said, Deadline reports that Cohan's deal to star on Whiskey Cavalier would allow her to remain on The Walking Dead as a recurring character. The production schedules of the two shows would not necessarily prevent her from working on both.
On the one hand, fans of Lauren Cohan will undoubtedly be thrilled at the possibility of a double dose of the actress in primetime. Landing a new show could theoretically motivate the folks at The Walking Dead and AMC to give Cohan whatever she wants in negotiations to keep her around. After all, she's clearly an in-demand actress who could easily jump ship if she so chooses. Maybe Whiskey Cavalier could be what pushes a new deal for The Walking Dead forward.
On the other hand, Whiskey Cavalier could theoretically make both sides in the Walking Dead equation less motivated to strike a deal. Lauren Cohan doesn't need The Walking Dead in order to stay on the small screen, and The Walking Dead does seem to love to make statements by killing off major characters. Perhaps Cohan and The Walking Dead really will part ways after the end of Season 8. We can only wait and see.
The zombie apocalypse action will pick back up on Sunday, February 25 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC with the midseason premiere of The Walking Dead. For more viewing options, be sure to swing by our midseason TV premiere guide.
