It may be a completely separate series from The Walking Dead, but the upcoming Fear The Walking Dead will have one very specific thing in common with its predecessor.

Why 'Fear The Walking Dead' Will Be 'Very Cool' 

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Dave Erickson opened up about the new show, revealing along the way that fans won't be safe from seeing some of their favorite characters crossing over to the other side in the new show either, because death is still going to cast a huge pall over the story.

"I don't want to get too specific in terms of body count because I believe ultimately I would never set up and drop someone just for the purpose of setting up and dropping them," he said. "Anybody can be eaten at any time; it can happen to anyone. No one is safe, but I also have some specific arcs in my head that will probably protect certain people. I worked on Sons of Anarchy, and sometimes you have to kill your darlings."

In addition, both Erickson and show creator Robert Kirkman have given new insight and details into the storyline of the show, which picks up back at the beginning of the zombie outbreak, during the same period of time where Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) from the original story was in a coma.

"...I think at its core this is a story of Travis [Cliff Curtis] and Madison [Kim DIckens], who are these school teachers that both have kids from previous marriages and are very much in love," Kirkman told Entertainment Weekly about the characters he thinks fans will focus on. "And then one of the things that really excites me about this show is the fact that this is a show about two people who are a team, and they do back each other up. They do love and respect each other. They're a happy couple, which is something that you don't see a lot of on cable television these days."

However, Erickson revealed that even though the two are going to be portrayed as a happy couple, their issues will still bubble to the surface as the apocalypse continues to prove itself as a viable threat.

"...Because we're starting a bit earlier and have more of a slow burn into the apocalypse of season one, it gives us the opportunity to really ground our family's problems," he said. "We have this highly dysfunctional, blended family and all the issues that they face and they would have faced if the apocalypse hadn't struck, those are the problems we're exploring. The main narrative drive is the conflicts within this family dynamic and how those things are exacerbated by the arrival of the apocalypse."

Fear the Walking Dead debuts later this summer on AMC.

Tags: Fear The Walking Dead AMC television