The Walking Dead: Season 2 Hints

Forget bars and clubs. I had the best Friday night ever! I got to attend the Paley Center Festival in Los Angeles where I spoke with the cast and crew of AMC's The Walking Dead (Look for our press line video this coming week). After the red carpet, there was a presentation with a screening of episode five, "Wildfire." They didn't have anything new to show us, of course, as the writers' room has just reopened. They did, however, give us some tantalizing hints about Season 2.

On the panel were Emma Bell (Amy), Steven Yeun (Glenn), Laurie Holden (Andrea), Jon Bernthal (Shane), Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori), Andrew Lincoln (Rick), executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, creator of the comics and executive producer Robert Kirkman, and director and executive producer Frank Darabont, who gave a shout out to Burbank, CA comic book store "House of Secrets."

Kirkman told the crowd that he'd been approached a number of times about doing The Walking Dead as a film, but that all the ideas had been less than stellar. "'Oooh we can have super zombies! You know, what if there were dogs that turn into rocket ships!' And stuff like that... I just wanted to do the comic." Hurd noted, "It was developed previously in a different incarnation [at NBC], that would have resulted in quite a different show I think." Yeah, can you imagine this show on a network?

The running joke of the night was about who would be killed off next. (Everyone said "aww" every time Bell's name was mentioned.) During our interview, Yeun (a real life comic book and video game fan) told me he never wants to attend the zombie school they have for the extras - He said that means you're done for. Darabont -- who had the audience in stitches despite a cold -- said, "You do second guess every murderous decision you make." Yeun offered to send him a lot of Edible Arrangements to protect Glenn. "They're dipped in chocolate..."

So here is what we do know about Season 2: First off, it will begin right after the explosion that occurred in the season finale. Darabont told the crowd that he's not a huge fan of "one month later." He talked about using the major set pieces from the comic, saying, "What's canon in the series versus what's in the comic book is what I think it supremely cool. The stuff that Robert has laid out is a fantastic pattern, it's a great template. There are some things in it that are just too cool not to do." Prison, anyone? Darabont is certainly familiar with those, isn't he?

"It's the joke of my career," he said, when the subject of Walking Dead's prison storyline came up. "I keep getting sent to prison!" Darabont continued, "It's such a damn good idea though isn't it? That was a moment in the comic where I read it and went, 'That's too damn cool not to do.' It's such a great idea: 'Oh look, safety!' Cut to the worst possible place in the world." He shot down fan speculation about Merle (Michael Rooker) returning as the Governor. "Merle will not be The Governor because, you know, what a lame, obvious choice that would be. Whether we'll see Merle or Morgan Jones (Lennie James) again remains to be determined."

As for what Dr. Jenner whispered to Rick in the Season 1 finale, I was told on the carpet that there was originally a line written that they threw out. Lincoln told me something was actually said in his ear. Yes, everyone assumes it's about Lori being pregnant, but no one will confirm it. Kirkman joked about babies being a trend on AMC shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad and that the network might ask for one here.

Weigh in on this one in the comments, guys. What do you think the whisper was?

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