Fear The Walking Dead: Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd explains why Travis is not like Rick Grimes

The premiere of Fear the Walking Dead attracted high TV viewership ratings and continued the trend throughout its six-episode journey of season 1. While most fans expected a swarm of zombies, the show rather offered them the human side of the apocalypse, which was destroying mankind.

The series focused on the zombie virus and its destructive outcome through Madison Clark, a guidance counselor and her fiance English teacher Travis Manawa. With season 2 expected to be released in 2016, Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd in an exclusive interview with IBTimes UK has explained the real reason why the lead characters were reluctant to accept the apocalypse.

She also revealed why FTWD and The Walking Dead were different in their approach and why Travis is not the Rick Grimes of TWD.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: Season 1 of the series was a slow burn, but most of the moments felt realistic as it offered a graphic picture of a thriving humanity plunging into darkness [comments].

Hurd: We wanted Fear The Walking Dead to follow an ordinary family unaware of the zombie apocalypse occurring around them. Unlike Rick and Shane in The Walking Dead, they don't have a law enforcement background and really don't have the skill set or the weapons to deal with the crisis.

And they haven't had the benefit of watching 5 seasons of The Walking Dead so as they sadly don't recognize the signs of the coming terror that awaits them.

Q: Travis, shot and killed his wife in the finale to save her from the pain of turning into a zombie. His character has evolved dramatically from episode one to six. Has he finally accepted the apocalypse?

A: Travis is a good guy, someone who doesn't want to embrace violence or fear, but believes that reason and the rule of law will prevail. When he comes to the realization that the authorities won't protect him, and after learning from his ex-wife, Liza, that she (and indeed anyone who dies) will turn into a zombie, Travis is indeed a changed man. When Liza begs him to shoot her, he realizes that it is actually, and quite surprisingly, the humane thing to do.

Hurd also teased something major for season two when she said a 'way to avoid the apocalypse'.

Q: And finally, what can be expected of season two?

A: Viewers have always wondered whether there is any way of avoiding the zombie apocalypse. In season 2, they may very well find out!

Q: Why is the Fear marathon the best show to watch during Halloween (on AMC UK)?

A: Fear the Walking Dead is really perfect for Halloween viewing – with six episodes, it's a mini-marathon, so it's not really a huge time commitment. But in keeping with Halloween, it's all about monsters hiding in plain sight. On the show, however, what you don't know really can kill you!.

AMC will run a full marathon of all the six episode of FTWD season one on Halloween which will start airing from 10.30pm in the UK.

Before the premiere of the second season of the zombie apocalyptic series next year, the network is releasing the one-minute webisodes of the online series Flight 462 every week.

Watch the first four episodes of FTWD Flight 462 below: