All language subtitles for The.Walking.Dead.S11E00.The.Making.of.the.Final.Season.DOCU.720p.10bit.WEBRip.2CH.x265.HEVC.PSA

[soft piano music]

- I didn't know
it would last this long.

I had no idea.

- It's been so freeing
to create this world

and to live in this world
for this long.

♪

- It's just a really special
bond that we have.

- We didn't have nearly
as large of a cast back then,

so it was a much smaller
ragtag group of people

who were there all the time.

- It was just us in the woods

as a family just kicking butt.

- I wasn't really 100% sure

how the general public
would take it.

- We never dreamed
that there would be

this kind of response
to this show.

[cheers and applause]

- 21 million people a week

watching your show
at the height of it.

- I thought that I would
be fine, prepared.

I fucking was not.

- Because it was like
jumping on a moving train.

- You will not be able to talk
about the history of television

without talking about
AMC's "The Walking Dead."

- I love that I get to be
a part of something

that meant so much to people.

- For all the skepticism

about whether a zombie show
could work on TV,

it kind of blew everyone away

as to what could be done
with the genre.

It felt very special
from the beginning.

- How do you bring
a story like this

to a conclusion
that is worth the legacy

of what this show is?

- What do we want
to give people?

Why have they been
with us this long?

And how do we honor that?

- The goal from the beginning
was, make it as big

and make it as impressive
as we possibly can.

- It's just gonna be crazy, man.

- Have I thought about the end?
- Yeah.

Kind of breaks my heart,
to be honest.

- We're gonna see

a bit of the OG
"Walking Dead" return.

- Get ready.
- It's gonna be bloody.

[laughs]

♪

- So we ready to roll?

- I'll have you
introduce yourself,

uh, and kind of tell me
what your job is on the show.

- Hi. I'm Tom Luse.

I'm an executive producer
on "The Walking Dead"

and part of the producing team.

- I'm Denise Huth, and I'm one

of the executive producers
on "The Walking Dead."

- My name is Scott Gimple.

I am the chief content officer
of "The Walking Dead" universe.

- My name is Angela Kang,

and I am the showrunner
of "The Walking Dead."

- My name is
Gregory Paul Nicotero,

March 15, 1963,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

- Yeah, I've been here
basically longer than anybody.

[laughing] So I know it all.

[dramatic music]

- For any of us that started
on the show early enough,

I don't know that there were
very many people who were like,

"This could totally become
a franchise."

We were just like,
"Well, this is the show,

"and we're gonna make
the best version of this show

that we can for as long
as we're allowed to."

- "The Walking Dead"
has always been

the greatest summer camp
on Earth.

That aspect of it,
of us being in Senoia,

this lovely little town,

just doing our thing
away from the world,

there was a purity to that.

- The expectations
at the beginning

were not that we were gonna
become what we have become.

- It's been interesting.

I've done a lot
of zombie movies.

I've never done a zombie school.

So I thought that it was
really good for me

to be able to go through
and kind of handpick

the people that I really liked.

For quite a while, we had talked

about the idea of doing
some sort of genre zombie show.

And then, of course,

"The Walking Dead" comes along,

the comic book.

- We first got the rights
to the comic book

way back in 2005

and spent five years
trying to get it made.

And so AMC finally said yes,

and we were able to shoot
that first season in 2010.

- Norman Reedus, take one.

- There was so much care
and thought

that went into that
original casting.

You know, I remember being there

for when Andy came
and did a screen test

and Bernthal and Sarah,

and it just felt very special
from the beginning.

It felt like this little
kernel of something

that could be amazing
and we wanted to protect.

- I won't do it.

We can't just leave.

- Carol, the group is split.

We're scattered and weak.

- What if she comes back
and we're not here?

Could happen.

- If Sophia found her way back
and we were gone,

that would be awful.

- I came to be
a part of the show

having done a film
called "The Mist."

And I think it was
three years later

and totally unexpected.

Got a phone call

they had a role for me
in "The Walking Dead."

I had no idea
what "The Walking Dead" was.

I remember
going to the comic store

to find out what it was,

and I opened the book,
just some random page.

And it was... [growls]

And I was like, "Oh, dear.
Oh, dear. Well, I don't know.

What am I getting myself into?"

- I read the pilot.

It seemed super honest.

I didn't really read zombies
into the pilot.

I saw a man
trying to find his family

and being confused and worried.

And it really struck with me.

♪

- Dad!

Getting cast on the show was

pretty fast and really exciting.

They originally had said,
"We're gonna bring you out

for a screen test
with Steven Yeun."

And then, like, a day later,
they said,

"Actually, we're gonna
fly you to Georgia

and you're gonna start filming."

- It was just sort of
the perfect work atmosphere.

And everybody was very excited

'cause we were going
into an unknown.

There wasn't a show
quite like "The Walking Dead."

Nobody knew what was
going to become of it.

We were aware that this
would be a six-episode pilot.

We didn't know if we would have
another season.

- There was no expectation
of a season two.

So it sort of felt like,
do whatever we gotta do

and just get through
those six episodes.

- Our production budget
and our crew size was modest.

We had very few resources
to make the show.

What we had were
an amazingly dedicated team

behind and in front
of the camera.

- A variety of different bloods.

This is, like, our zombie blood.

We have dark zombie blood,
dressing blood,

pumping blood,
dark pumping blood,

mouth blood, zombie mouth blood.

I think six different kinds
of blood?

Something like that, yeah.

- We shot on 16 millimeter film.

We did almost all
of our effects in camera

and kind of embraced
an old-school horror mentality

that got me very excited
about new ways of filmmaking.

- Ooh. There we go.

You know, it felt like

a little feature, to be honest.

It felt like a movie.

Who are these people?

It was the first thing I'd done

with a group of actors

that were 100% behind you.

Everybody was in it to win it,

and it was a family.

- That whole ensemble feel

was really laid down

really nicely by Andy Lincoln.

- He was like a superb leader.

- I want to make this
as real, as harrowing,

as raw, and as exciting
as I can possibly do.

I'm gonna give it my all.

- Everybody really bonded
like that.

You know, we were
away from Hollywood,

away from our families.

We were out here in the woods.

It was just kind of
our little bubble.

- It's sort of the lure
of the show,

how the cast
in those first few seasons...

You know, they never
went to their trailers.

They never weren't on set.

It's just they came to set
in the mornings,

and that's where they were.

- This is a segment
called Hugs for Free.

- No, no, no.

- It felt very... almost
student-film-ish in a way,

but we had a better
budget than that.

[all exclaim]

I mean, not great, but better.

- Episode two in the can.
- Yay!

- A lot of people
initially were like,

"Oh, yeah, I don't really...

"It's a zombie show.

It's not really my thing."

And then word of mouth came out,

and people would say,
"It's not a zombie show.

"There are zombies in it,

"but that's not what it's about."

This is a story about survival.

This is a story
about people banding together

to fight against
a greater common enemy.

And that's how we fell
in love with Daryl,

you fell in love with Carol,
you fell in love with Maggie,

you fell in love with Rick.

And that's when the show began
to gain a lot of momentum.

It was pretty fascinating
what we were able to do.

The fact that we were changing
the rules of television

and changing the rules
of genre storytelling.

I really do feel that
"Walking Dead's" footprint

has been emulated
in so many shows since then,

because up to that point,

we'd never seen
anything like it on TV.

- I remember early on thinking,

"This is absolutely phenomenal."

Suddenly, people know who I am.

And you realize
this is kind of a big deal.

- There was definitely a moment

when it felt a bit overwhelming
that it had gotten so popular,

and I remember
Steven and I talking about it

and kind of trying to find
a way to process that...

That you were
that interesting to people.

- You know, the thing
about the fandom

and the popularity of the show,

we didn't really feel it
till, like, season three

or four
because we were out here.

We were so deep in it
that we didn't

really see the outside world.

- It's pretty incredible
to be a part

of something that becomes
a worldwide phenomenon.

I feel so fortunate to have been

a part of putting
something together

that resonated
as much as this did.

[cheers and applause]

- It wasn't like
we went to those fan events

and there was, like, 10 people,

and then 100 people,
and 1,000 people.

We just went to them
and there was 10,000 people,

like, right off the bat.

And it was like that everywhere.

There were drones
being flown around here,

people trying to spy.

There were people
hiding in the woods.

- I've never had an experience
where I've gone somewhere

or somebody's noticed
or said anything

when it hasn't been
an emotional connection

with a fan.

And... and I just thought, "Yeah,

because that's how we feel
when we make it."

[dramatic music]

♪

- The thing that's interesting
right now

in terms of making people
realize is,

is that, you know,
we're officially in prep

for the last episode.

It's not just an episode.

- Walkers, everybody...
- Stunt walkers,

everybody's gotta be
full performance every time.

No sleeping walkers.

Every time, it's gotta be
spot on, right?

- So am I looking into...

- You look at me.

- Look at you? Great.

- Well,
they're also prescription.

- [laughs]
- Are they?

- I can... I'll take them off
at some point.

How about that?

- So how much of me can you see?

Waist up?

- My white socks.

- So you can see my socks?

- White socks.
- Hold on. Let's cut.

- Yeah.

- You should sit over there,
because that way,

if I say something bad,
I can see Brandy

over your shoulder going...

- Yeah, I feel like
I should be...

I should be here, though.

I should be like,
"I can't believe it's over."

[dramatic music]

- My name is Ross Marquand,
and I play Aaron.

- Hi, I'm Seth Gilliam,
and I play Father Gabriel.

- I'm Josh McDermitt.
- I play Eugene.

- Hi. I'm Khary Payton.
- I play King Ezekiel.

- My name is Cailey Fleming,
and I play Judith Grimes.

- Hi. I'm Lauren Ridloff.

I play Connie
on "The Walking Dead."

♪

- The experience
getting cast on the show,

for me, was life-changing.

- It was pretty surreal.

- Fans came up to me and said,
"You should be Negan."

It was maybe
the most exhilarating work

I think I'd ever done
up to that point.

- I was a bit intimidated
coming here

with an ensemble cast
who had been doing this

and had made such a name
for themselves.

- Very intimidating coming
into a show that you love.

You don't want to be the one
who screws it up.

- It was kind of like,
"Here's the script, dude.

"Don't screw this up," you know?

- But we'd all tell you
the same thing.

We were welcomed right away.

- You know, Andy gave me
some shit initially.

But it was very good-natured.

- [giggling]

My first day on set,
I was just blown away

about how kind they were.

They were so welcoming
and accepting of me.

- Hi.
- I'm Andy. What's your name?

- Addie.
- Addie.

- Andy Lincoln came
on a day off just to greet us.

Who's done that for me
before in my career?

Nobody.

- Before I even got on a plane
to fly out to Georgia,

Steven Yeun was emailing me
saying, "Hey, here's my number."

"Let's hang out, let's"...

You know, "Welcome to the show.

I'm excited
to be working with you."

That really set the tone.

- When you're coming
into such a crazy environment,

it's such a nice thing to do.

I want to do that
for people in my career.

[indistinct chatter]

♪

- This was a really tricky year.

It's been
a really tricky two years

for the entire world.

And our writers were already
well at work

in the room in January,
February, March of 2020.

- Our usual schedule, we start
the writers room in January.

And then, you know, we work
for a certain number of weeks,

and then we pitch AMC the...
Our plans for the season,

and then we start writing,
and then we start shooting

somewhere around the end
of April, beginning of May.

- We had actually
just had a pitch,

what we thought was gonna be
a traditional season 11

of 16 episodes.

And then the pandemic hit.

- At that time,
we were already in pre-prep.

Like, sets were being built,

department heads were
getting ready to travel,

like, all of that kind of stuff.

It became apparent
that this wasn't,

like, gonna be
a four-week thing,

where we pause and then we got
back up and running.

We were just starting
to understand

it was going to be
very hard to produce

the episodes that we
initially had planned

for the start of season 11.

But we were
one of the early shows

that started producing again.

Really, not very many people
were able

to get up and running
very quickly in 2020

because there were
all these health protocols

that had to be figured out.

It was this huge learning curve.

- I got you.
- Thank you so much.

♪

- I honestly thought
this show was gonna

keep going for a while.

- One,
I think more than anything,

it was a shock.

- I kind of had a wave of panic.

I was like, "Wait, wait, wait",

"I'm never going back there
again?

What are you talking about?"

I don't know.
It's just... it's surreal.

I haven't really accepted
that it's over,

I don't think, to be honest.

- And then we got
this phone call saying,

"Hey, so we're gonna do
24 episodes."

And of course,
first thing I thought about is,

"Holy shit, like, shooting
16 episodes almost kills us.

How are we gonna
shoot 24 episodes?"

I mean, this is not
a courtroom drama.

This show is hardcore.

- It's like every episode,
we approach it

like it's its own
little indie movie.

I think for everybody,
just the idea

of how do we produce this
in the time that we have

with the restrictions
that we have?

- How do you bring
a story like this

to a conclusion
that is worth the legacy

of what this show is?

- This is
a very widespread story

with literally dozens
of well-known characters

that we all have to...
You have to pay off.

And that is...
That's a very difficult,

very difficult thing to do.

- People are getting used to it.

- What I'll say is that, like,

I know that every person
in this room

was like, "Oh, shit,
we have to end the series."

- Like, let us not fuck this up."
- Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Angela Kang and the writers
really had to,

you know, drop whole things
that they had been working on

to shift gears
to do more episodes

to get us into the 24 episodes
of season 11.

Oh, and by the way,
you also have to wrap up

the whole show.

♪

- This is the end of the series,

so we have to, like...

You've gotta raise
those stakes in a way

that, like, elevates it
to the point

where these are the rides
we're gonna take you on.

- It's like a story
of, like, the gut, the heart.

You're dealing with, like,
almost, like, the bureaucracy

and the institution itself

as being the enemy
of human progress

and, like, how people
with good intentions

can still build something evil.

- I don't think
the Commonwealth thinks

they're evil,

given what's happened
all around them.

- In all societies where
there's, like, a figurehead

and they have all the power,

ultimately that power
will corrupt.

- So how do you still
ground that down

in the visceral sort of thing

that makes it
"The Walking Dead"?

- We know that there's
still a contingent

of our people in Commonwealth
that are in imminent danger.

- Well, the alternative is,
you go out into the wasteland

and you eat worms.

The alternative
is literally hell.

- Yeah.

- It's teeing up what becomes
a do-or-die kind of situation.

[soft music]

♪

- There's a big statement
being made this season.

It's not really
what we're used to.

It's something we've fallen on.

And then the writers themselves
are telling a story

of equality and social justice.

- I feel like
through the apocalypse,

we rediscover what is
really important to us.

And then we have
to reenter society.

And that is the Commonwealth.

And we face the threat

of losing ourselves once again.

So the battle is really about

[soft dramatic music]

- You've fallen on hard times.

And that is where
the Commonwealth

is more than willing to help.

If you remain, we can provide
labor and materials

to help you build back
all you've lost.

However,

if any are interested,

I do have another,

potentially more interesting
choice to offer.

♪

- This whole season
feels like an escalation

across the board.

Now we're at a place where
we have multiple communities.

And we introduced
Commonwealth this year,

which is by far
the most advanced community

we've ever seen
in the history of the show.

You know, it's a community
of 50,000 people.

It's the closest thing

to what the world
used to look like

that we've ever seen.

And that was a huge undertaking
for the production crew.

- My name's Roger Scruggs.

I'm the construction
coordinator.

- Mike Sullivan,
and I'm the scenic charge.

- I'm Gia Grosso.

I'm the set decorator.

- I'm Vera Chow.

I'm the costume designer
of this season

of "The Walking Dead."

- It's been huge.

We've had big builds

pretty much every episode
this year.

It's been really ambitious.

Everything that's in there
in the square,

the Commonwealth square,
we built this year.

- They'll design the set.

They'll come to me and say,

"This is the kind of look
that I'd like."

And then we just
have to run with it.

The first big set that we did
was the Commonwealth.

We had no idea how large
it was going to be.

- The Commonwealth is
the biggest community

that they've been in
in the show,

and though it has a really
dark underbelly to it,

it's a community that...

That is successful.

This place,

compared to any other place
they've been,

is so shiny and nice and safe

that the place in and of itself

made our characters into aliens.

- You kind of walk into it
and you're like, what is this?

Yeah, people in the outfits
walking around

eating cotton candy and stuff,

which is definitely different
than what we're used to.

You're like, where are we?

You're like, are we being
punked, like, you know?

And I think it plays on my face
in all the scenes there.

- What I do in my department,
my crew, is,

we handle all the set dressing.

For instance, this sofa
would be in our realm.

♪

We had a great time
doing the Commonwealth town

because it's a mix
of found things.

And the little bit
that they do manufacture,

paper goods and you see a lot
of fabrics,

it was really fun
to make the shops

using all of those elements.

There's a lot of weird shit
in those shops.

[laughs]

- We've gone
from "The Walking Dead"

back to the living people.

It's kind of like
they're in a community

where they're not out
in the wild all the time.

They have running water.

They clean their hands
every day.

- I was aware
of the introduction

of the Commonwealth,
like, brand-new villains.

So it was a chance
to really change things up

and elevate it.

So we started thinking
about what kind of technology

would actually exist
in the Commonwealth.

And there's, like, no rules

in terms of what decade
we're in.

It's not our actual present day.

So how has fashion evolved?

How has clothing
and sewing evolved

in this little town
of 50,000 people?

It's entirely up to me.

So that was fun.

- It's been
such a massive transition.

And there's not been
a slow progression in that.

We really shove our characters

into quite drastic changes
this season.

- I think our group is
too smart to be fooled by it,

to be honest.

And so we're kind of
reluctantly pulled into it

because we want safety
for our kids.

We want them to have
a better life.

And then it sort of
unravels around us.

- There's a direct clash,
I think,

for people on the outside
and people on the inside.

And there's an unrest inside
the Commonwealth as well,

and all of that is building up.

- The leader is
kind of a dictator,

and she's lying to everybody.

And they're just now opening
their eyes to it, I guess.

- What's exciting is,
Mercer has finally come around

and was able to rescue Eugene.

And now we're gonna see
what comes of that.

- After having had Hershel
kidnapped by Pamela,

[indistinct chatter]

- The scale of what
we're trying to accomplish

for this finale
and building up to the finale

is remarkable.

And I think
the scale of everything

is going to be a bit bigger,
a bit bolder,

and a bit more surprising.

- All right, here we go, team.

Ready?

All right,
let's see what happens.

- We owe it to our fans

and the legacy of this show

to have a... lack of a better way
to say it,

a thrilling conclusion
to "The Walking Dead."

And we're gonna do that.

- Mark.

- I've never been on a show

that has this many
enormous sets.

And just trying to get sets done

with the time frame
of a episodic TV show,

the challenge is
what I really like.

[dramatic music]

- When I read a script,
I do get really excited

when there is
maybe a new scenario

we haven't done before.

I'd say one of the first ones
that interested me

was our subway tunnels.

To create
an apocalyptic subway tunnel

was really a challenge
that we all really welcomed.

We just knew it was
going to be so fantastic.

- One of the big highlights
this season,

they built a 50,000-gallon
water tank,

and we filmed in it,
and it was the flooded basement

of Aaron's house.

We have... Judith and Gracie
are trapped down there

being attacked by walkers
who are in the water.

Aaron's jumping in
and smashing their heads in

with his mace hand.

And it's just... it is wild
to shoot in those conditions.

I'd never been able to do
anything like that.

- Thank you.

- We've had quite a few
sequences like that this year,

and they've kind of, you know,
taken up the scale of things

just a bit, those writers have.

- Episode nine,
we had the hwacha,

which just fires
rocket arrows out

as, like, a ballistic missile.

And they're firing into a herd,

and they're exploding
and blowing up,

and the rockets hit the walker,

shooting out sparks,

and then they explode
into a million pieces.

And there were so many elements

we had to come up with.

- I built a couple prototypes.

Effects built the working model,

because mine would have caught
on fire.

[phone vibrating]

- Excuse me.

I have to take this. Sorry.

Hello?

Everybody is at the top
of their game

and experts in their field
in each and every department.

I'm talking greens.

I'm talking art department,
crafty.

And sometimes when I don't
necessarily have to be on set,

I'll come on set
just to watch them

because it's so impressive.

- Just tell me your name
and what you do on the show.

- Taylor Knight.
- I'm the hair department head.

- Brad Carey,
and I'm the key greens person.

- Geoffrey January.

First assistant director.

- I'm Jody Winslette.
- I'm the transpo captain.

- Bryan Carey.
- I'm the greens foreman.

- Vincent Gideon.

I am the key hair department
for "The Walking Dead."

[intense music]

♪

- It's been a challenging
season, without a doubt.

But the only way
that it has survived

is because the passion
of the crew and the cast.

- A couple more times.
- Is that good?

- I need to see four more tests
before I'm comfortable with it.

- Shooting "The Walking Dead"
is like playing chess.

It's a very complicated show
to make.

We have visual effects
and special effects and stunts.

- [screaming]

- The glamour
of "The Walking Dead"?

There is no glamour
of "The Walking Dead"

while you're shooting
"The Walking Dead," you know?

It's like go, go, go!

Oh, it's hot?
Well, yeah, it's hot.

Oh, there are mosquitoes?
There are ticks?

Yeah, there are mosquitoes
and ticks.

- Bug spray on the tracks.

- And honestly, when I'm away,
I feel guilty

because I know that my crew
is out here busting their ass.

And I want to be out here,

you know, feeling it with them.

The truth is,
we make magic in eight days.

And if you do it
with people you love,

it's actually worth it.

[dramatic music]

♪

- This show makes you
uncomfortable.

But I think it helps for what
you guys see on the screen.

You feel that uncomfortableness,

and that plays

because we're in
the middle of an apocalypse.

Those of us that have been here
longer than a year are insane.

- I've been in awe of the people

that I've collaborated with
over the last 12 years

of making something
that's been amazing.

And we continue that dedication

and that passion all the way
through to the last ring.

- We are gonna work
our asses off until then,

and then we're gonna have
a lot of tequila.

[laughs]

[dramatic music]

- Anything that happens
from the moment we shoot it,

we'll take in 40, 50, 60 hours
worth of material sometimes.

Once we take that footage in,

our assistant editors digitize
that footage for the editors,

put it into the machines,
kind of put it into order,

and get it ready
to be worked on.

- I'm Megan.
- I'm the VFX coordinator.

- I'm Mike, the VFX editor.

- I'm Alan Cody,
and I'm the editor.

- I am Ryan DeGard.
- I am the post producer.

- There's some fun stuff
in post.

And I think a lot of times,
people think,

like, "Oh, like,
it's done shooting."

Like, you must all
be on a break."

And I'm like, "No,
production is on a break."

[walkers snarling]

There's an entire
post-production process

that's happening
that goes on for months

and months and months.

- I think that's
one of the misconceptions

of, you know... just in general
with television and movies.

It's like,
as soon as you've shot it,

why isn't it ready
for us to watch it?

So it's like, you have to go
through these processes,

and they take a lot of time.

And the post process
consists of editing,

sound, visual effects, mixing.

And we kind of put
that whole thing together

in the post process and,
you know, condense that down

into something that we put
out to the public.

- I'm Jamie.
- I'm the VFX producer.

Our show has a lot of killing,

especially of zombies.

And each actor has kind of
their own, like, hero weapon.

And if we see that green end
when we're watching,

we know, "Okay, we're gonna need

to extend the length of it."

And then we'll kind of take

that second half
that we're building

and be able to swing it
through the actor's head

and add the blood
and all of the fun stuff.

- So all of those things happen.

There's an entire mix process.

And our post producer does
an incredible amount of work

with the people that do ADR
and loop group

and add
all the background noises.

- Let's do these three
right here,

and then we'll
move them in there.

- Get down!

- [grunting]

- As far as sound goes,
this show is,

you know,
built on sound, really.

I mean, there's just a lot
of layers to what we do.

- It is a zombie show.

We take a lot of pride
in the artistry

that goes into the zombies.

We work really hard
to think about the zombies.

- Here we go.
- [all snarling]

- There's just
some incredible work

that they all do
that's on screen.

- The last music spot
on "The Walking Dead."

- I know!

- God, shed a tear,
and here we go.

- I love working
with our composers.

Bear and Sam are just...

They are the best.

They are so story-driven.

They really, like,
are thinking it through

in terms of, like,
what is the story

we're trying to tell?

- Coming out
of the previous episode,

it will have been emotional,
I think.

To some degree, we can just,
like, carry that over.

- I agree, but it's like...

I think what you're suggesting
is what I wanted,

which is to start that
more noticeably

the instant [...] passes out...

- Yeah.
- Right.

- So that that's all
part of the piece.

- We talk about every scene

and we talk about
the episode as a whole

and we talk about, like,
what are themes

that we're trying to get across?

Like, what are the emotions
of this scene?

And once we have
that conversation,

they go off
and they play with it.

They imagine.

They come up with themes.

It really just adds
to the experience.

- Are we still
planning on recording

the main title theme
with the live orchestra

as well?

I would love to do that.

- I mean,
let me put it this way.

- That'd be rad.
- It doesn't need it.

It doesn't want it.

But we'll do it
because it will look awesome.

[laughter]

- This idea of having Bear
and Sam use a live orchestra

had been kind of percolating
for a while for me.

And I'd been kind of thinking
about it in the background.

It's a big moment for the show.

And when you have
a live orchestra,

it's big, right? It's epic.

So, like, the idea that Bear
and Sam are gonna deliver

this music in a way
that we've never experienced

really on this show,
it's exciting.

- Some of the stuff
they're composing

that hasn't aired yet,
it's just... it's epic.

It's amazing.

Like, I think people will
really, really enjoy

the soundscape
of these episodes.

- [flute playing]
- Welcome.

This particular episode,
we wanted to send out the show

on an even bigger note.

So everybody on the show
is excited

to bring in the winds
and the brass

and just do something
even bigger than normal.

So just really want to say
thank you to them

for letting us do this tonight.

And thank you all
for being here.

Okay, bows up. Bar two.

["The Walking Dead"
theme playing]

- It's truly, truly a process

that hundreds of people
from start to finish

are working on.

It's so fun to get to be
part of all of that.

But just the amount of work
that people put in

to, like, really craft
every episode.

- I'm trying to get
your kit pretty much

in the same direction
of the lens.

So you're like...

- All right, here we go.
- Let's try one.

Here we go. Let's roll, please.

- The nature of the show

and being an actor on this show,

you always sort of feel like
the axe is about to drop on you

at any second.

- Shoot yourself back
just a tiny bit.

- By, like...
- Like that?

- Yeah, perfect. Thank you.

- I always answer the phone
to Angela the same way,

which is, "Is it... am I dead?"

Is it now?"
I don't even say hello.

- All right,
that's a series wrap

on Michael, guys.

[all cheering]

- You know, on our show,
we have wrap-outs

as people have
their final series wraps.

And the final episode
of somebody

who's been on the show
for a while is always

really emotional, you know.

And usually, in any given year,

you might have, like,
a handful of those.

- Maggie nods her head.

And Duncan closes his eyes.

And she gently slides her blade
up into the back of his skull.

End of act three.

- We have our traditions.

We always try to celebrate
when one of us, you know,

goes off into the world again.

- We love you.
- [chuckles]

- We all had a sense
that, you know,

time was very precious.

- I'm Michael Cudlitz.
- I'm Michael Cudlitz.

All: I'm Michael Cudlitz.

- And we should invest
as much in each other

because you never knew when
you were gonna lose somebody.

- This is great.

- As time goes on,
you get used to people dying.

But we just find ways to make it

ridiculously celebratory
and fun.

- Thank you.
- European.

- Yeah, he's European.

- It's special.

Take as many
of these traditions with us

as we can, I think.

[soft music]

- It's a beautiful way,
actually, to say goodbye

to somebody who's been a part
of the show for a long time.

♪

- You know,
everybody comes here to die.

When I meet somebody,
that's what I say to them.

Everybody comes here to die.

And some people
would be, like, horrified.

But that's what
our show is about.

♪

- The big departures,
it's always like,

everybody's, like, a little,
like, choked up,

and it's touching.

But this time,
we had to wrap the entire cast,

because for everybody,
this was their last episode.

- How are the cast and you
preparing for the end?

- [laughs]

Um...

taking a lot of photos, I think.

It's going to be

a mammoth sea of emotion
when it happens.

It's just crazy. Yeah.

But we've done
something great here,

and we've got something
to be so proud of.

And...

dang, this has been...

It's one in a million.

♪

- I went to the IMDb
and just scrolled

on and on and on and on,

and there is
almost 100 pages here

of cast and crew
over these seasons

that have come
through these doors

to help make this show
come to life.

It's amazing to me to think

that this is what I'm a part of.

[clears throat]

And...

we're a part of something
pretty darn incredible.

And I'm grateful.

♪

- I know the product

that we put on screen
is one thing,

and that's what connects
so much of the world

to "The Walking Dead,"
but for us,

it's these relationships
that we share.

- Pan over there. Over there.

[engine revving] [laughs]

- It's been a huge, massive part

of our everyday life.

And that will never
happen again, ever.

That's what I'll miss.

- I'm in denial.
- I'll be really honest.

You know, I'll look at Norman,
and he'll be like,

"It's gonna get sad."

- It's very, um...

surreal to think
that it's all ending now.

- I've definitely had moments
where I'm like, "Oh, wow,

this is the last time
this and that is gonna happen."

- I'm nervous
about saying goodbye.

I'm not gonna lie.

♪

- I think I'm just gonna make
an Irish exit.

- I haven't said goodbye yet,
and I don't plan to.

- I'll just dip out.

It'll be too hard.

- So I'm just gonna
kind of walk away,

and then I know
I'll see everybody again,

and we'll just leave it at that.

- Personally, I'm trying
to get as many moments

individually with people
as I can.

I'm trying to not be fearful
about sharing

just how much I love them.

- I hope it's not goodbye.
- [laughs]

These are my best friends.

- That's a series wrap
on Mr. JDM.

[cheers and applause]

That is a wrap on Khary.

[cheers and applause]

Series wrap on Josh.

[cheers and applause]

Series wrap on Christian.
[cheers and applause]

Mr. Norman Reedus, Daryl.
[cheers and applause]

Series wrap on Melissa.

[cheers and applause]

- Love you guys a lot.

- It was truly an honor
being here with you.

- Thank you. It's really been

one of the best experiences
of my life.

- The one thing we have is that

we were all in the trenches
together.

No one can ever take that
away from us.

- And I won't forget you.
- I appreciate you.

- We could lose our friends,
people we love.

It's not about us anymore.

It's about a future.

- Do I want the fans
to be happy with the show?

Yeah, of course.

The fans and the cast
and the crew

and everybody else

has a real relationship
with the outside world

through the show.

You know, the number of families

that have come to me,

thanked me
for playing the character,

how I play the character, and...

Daryl's tough, so it's
helped me get through stuff.

You know, things like that
have meant the world to me.

- It just means so much to us

that people are able to have
that escape.

- There are fans
who tell our actors,

like, this show gave me

something to talk
to my dad about

or it allowed me
to come out to my family.

- I know for me,
I am eternally grateful

to have been a part of it.

That being said, there are
new things on the horizon.

- We loved being on the show.

We loved making the show.

It's been us
against the world down here.

But outside of here,
it's just one big happy family.

♪

♪

♪

♪