The zombie apocalypse world of the Walking Dead series has always meant that viewers aren’t introduced to new characters every single week, so it hasn’t been a huge surprise that casting news for Fear the Walking Dead has been light prior to Season 2. Recently, however, casting information has begun to trickle out, and AMC has now announced the latest new face to be joining the cast of Fear the Walking Dead in Season 2: Dougray Scott.
AMC did not reveal who exactly Dougray Scott would be playing in Season 2, but some theorizing can be done. According to TVLine, a recent casting breakdown gave details on a character called Casey, who has been described as a decent man who believed in civility and is confident in an unexpected position of authority. Loyal to his family, Casey must learn how to be a leader in order for his vision of a future for his loved ones to come to pass. As this is the zombie apocalypse, he will have to learn to embrace necessary violence.
Frankly, this Casey sounds like a condensed version of Rick Grimes from the Walking Dead mothership. Considering that the first season of The Walking Dead was much better than the first season of Fear the Walking Dead, perhaps the similarities bode well for the spinoff’s second season. Even if this isn't the person Scott is playing.
There is the question of how well Dougray Scott will fit into the existing cast of the spinoff. Fear the Walking Dead isn’t exactly a show that would give him a lot of job security if he gets off to a shaky start. Luckily, Fear the Walking Dead won’t be his first brush with unexpected creatures on the small screen. Scott’s most recent regular TV job was as Dr. Norman Godfrey on Netflix’s original series Hemlock Grove. Although there have been no zombies on Hemlock Grove, there were enough werewolves and other ghoulies to guarantee that Scott will know his way around unnatural goings-on.
Even if Dougray Scott didn’t have much more than his Desperate Housewives stint to his name, he’d be a welcome addition to the cast. Fear the Walking Dead suffered from too many of the same locations, not enough developed characters, and far too few zombies in Season 1. More people on the show should be able to shake things up in a good way. Besides, at least it means that our regulars from last year won’t be hanging around on the damn boat all season.
Fear the Walking Dead’s second season will have fifteen episodes and be split into two halves in the same manner as The Walking Dead. The first half of seven episodes premieres on April 10 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. The second half is set to air at some point later in 2016. For a zombie fix before April, be sure to check out the midseason premiere of The Walking Dead when the show returns on February 14.
