Before The Walking Dead returns , the cast and crew share how journeying through 100 episodes has changed them. The Walking Dead has had a long road from its beginning back in 2010. Many a zombie has been slain, so many survivors have been lost, and now the show is set to hit a huge milestone in its history. With the debut of season 8, The Walking Dead will officially have crossed 100 episodes. Though The Walking Dead has sacrificed a lot of cast members over the years, there are still a handful of characters who have lived on for those entire 100 episodes. That’s a lot of time for people to spend together, so the cast understandably has some strong feelings about it.
There is no word on if The Walking Dead will be ending any time soon, so for all we know the cast might have many more episodes to come. But the longtime cast members as well as some of the newer faces still could not help being changed by their experience on the show.
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AMC released a featurette about the topic in which the cast gets into what this journey has meant to them, and how it has made them like a family. Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon on the show, has been with the series almost since the first episode. He reflected on how he has evolved since joining the cast, saying, “Has it changed my life working on the show? Yeah, it’s made me a better person, a harder worker. It’s been awesome.”
Chandler Riggs, who plays Carl Grimes, has had a particularly unique experience since he started on the show as a child. Most kids wouldn’t even have a job at that age, let alone be immersed in one of TV’s most popular shows where fans watch wondering if they’ll see his character devoured by walkers this week. “I was 10 when I started the show,” said Riggs, “so it’s definitely changed my life.”
The cast and crew alike are emphatic about what a positive experience The Walking Dead has been for them. Some of them speak about how the show jump started their career, or just about how wonderful it has been to be surrounded by such supportive and creative people all the time. It’s particularly nice to hear someone like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays the psychotic Negan on the show, share his kind side and speak genuinely about what the experience has meant to him. “I’ve never felt more part of something special as this show brings you into,” said Morgan.
Though fans should not get too caught up in these tender moments since season 8 is right around the corner in October, which will inevitably bring some shocking deaths. The Walking Dead is a show about survivors, after all, and if there is one thing the previous seasons have demonstrated, it’s that the world of the show is a tough one to survive.
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The Walking Dead season 8 and its 100th episode will premiere Sunday, October 22 at 9pm ET.
