Showrunner calls 'Fear the Walking Dead' 'a really diverse show'

NEW YORK, March 4 (UPI) -- Fear the Walking Dead showrunner Dave Erickson says he is proud of the diversity of his zombie-apocalypse drama's cast and crew.

Set to return April 10 on AMC, the series stars Kim Dickens as Madison, Cliff Curtis as Travis, Frank Dillane as Nick, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia, Ruben Blades as Daniel, Mercedes Mason as Ofelia, Lorenzo James Henrie as Chris and Colman Domingo as Strand.

Season 1 ended with Madison, Travis and their extended family escaping hordes of the undead and the subsequent civil unrest in Los Angeles to the Abigail, Strand's beautiful yacht.

"Shooting in Baja, we have a crew that is partly American alongside a lot of technicians and artists who came out from Mexico City and a lot of folks who are working locally in Baja. It was a giant endeavor and, as far as I can recall, there really hasn't been anything like this done for television before. It was new ground for all of us, for the writers, for the directors, for all the producers and for the network. That's a really rewarding feeling and I think we're going to give the audience an experience that they haven't had before," Erickson said in a Q&A released by AMC.

"Fear is a really diverse show and that's really important to us. When we were shooting in Los Angeles, it was in East LA, exploring neighborhoods that don't appear on TV or in films too often. Working in Mexico has continued that theme. It's been great to be able to work with Mexican directors, writers and craftspeople and Bernardo Trujillo, our production designer, is based in Mexico City and he has been remarkable with his energy and his unique, invaluable perspective. I think that diversity is deeply embedded within the entire show. We have an incredibly diverse cast and crew and I think it gives us a very interesting edge and a different perspective. It makes for a really rich show."

So, what can fans expect from Season 2?

"I think the most intriguing question is this: We all know that we're going to be on a boat because we saw that at the end of Season 1 but... where are the characters going to go?" Erickson said.

"I think we'll quickly realize that the ocean is no safer than land and that there's a very different level of adversity and threat on the water. It forces the characters to set their sights on a destination. But where will that be? North to Vancouver or south to Cabo? This is a boat that has a really incredible range and a full tank of gas so, feasibly, they could head out across the Pacific for 3,000 miles or more and make it to Hawaii. We could even end up doing zombies in paradise! That's the intriguing question for the first few episodes of the new season: what harbor can the characters find and when they get there, will it be safe or not?"

Season 1 is now streaming on Hulu.