The Walking Dead Holiday Special (2020) - full transcript
Host Chris Hardwick meets with the cast members of 'The Walking Dead' as they virtually gather to reminisce on the franchise series' past, present and future.
Welcome to "The Walking
Dead" Holiday Special.
This is the first one, the first
one of these we've ever done.
Why did it take us 10 years to do this?
Well, it doesn't matter,
because we're doing it now
and we're gonna celebrate
with our "Walking Dead" family
and... and bring you some
much needed holiday cheer.
That is my goal for you.
I want to give you some holiday cheer.
We're gonna do that with singing.
We're gonna do that
with lots of surprises,
information, surprise
guests, we're gonna have.
We're gonna have a...
a mega "in memoriam",
okay, with... with 10 seasons'
worth of epic walker kills.
And obviously, look, of course
we wish we could be
doing this in person.
Of course we wish we
could be with our family
and friends in person.
But you know what?
Virtually is the way to go this
year. So that's we're gonna do.
We're gonna make the best of it.
And... and I really hope you
join us along while we do that.
Now, let's talk about
guests for this episode.
We have Judith Grimes.
Cailey Fleming will be here.
We have Lauren Cohan.
We have Emily Kinney.
We're gonna reunite the Greene sisters.
We have Josh McDermitt, A.K.A. Eugene,
and also T-Dog himself.
Irone Singleton will be here.
I'm very excited about that.
And, of course, Angela Kang
and Scott M. Gimple, as well.
We're gonna talk about the future
of "The Walking Dead" and
"The Walking Dead" universe.
So more information and
tidbits on that, too.
So tons of epic holiday gifts
I lay at your feet as
we begin the first-ever
"Walking Dead" Holiday Special!
[BELLS JINGLING]
Later in the show, Irone Singleton's
gonna be joining us, and Emily Kinney
is gonna perform a holiday classic.
But right now, please
say hello to my guests
Cailey Fleming, Lauren
Cohan, and, of course,
Josh McDermitt, joining
us for this holiday...
- Whoo-whoo!
- ... Spectacular.
Very nice to see everyone.
Josh, you got the
garland in the background.
That's fantastic.
- Cailey has a gorgeous...
- Just trying to be festive.
A... a tree back
there, and then, Lauren,
I think that could be
considered a holiday plant.
[LAUGHING] Sure.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
I was gonna do it before today,
and it just... it just didn't happen,
but that cushion has some red, so...
You know what? It's fine. It doesn't...
you know what? It's fine. The
holiday spirit's in our hearts.
It doesn't have to be in
an elaborate, you know,
decorative holiday set like
here. I mean, this is nothing.
Just a little something we
threw together. It's whatever.
It's fine. It's fine. Let's
talk about the holidays.
Lauren, did you have any specific
holiday traditions growing up?
I mean, my family, so we're, like,
half English, half American,
half celebrate the Hanukkah,
half celebrate Christmas.
But our family's favorite tradition
seriously is, we play "Celebrity."
Everybody calls it
something different, I guess.
But you know where you have...
you do... the first time
you do the clues, and
then you do a charade,
- and then you do just one motion.
- Yeah.
This makes sense, I think.
So our grandfather plays with
us, and he is such a stickler
for rules in every element of life.
So he insists that
he's following the rules
when we play this game.
But he... every one
of his clues is a rhyme
that sounds exactly like the clue.
But he insists he's following the rules.
And he's very old,
and he's very English.
And so one year, one of his clues
was Michael Jackson. And he... [LAUGHS]
and he gets really mad when
you tell him he's cheating.
So he said, "it sounds like...
Ichael Ackson. Ichael
Ackson", like this,
and you're like, "no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
That's... that's...
that's not a good clue."
He's like, "Lauren, I
know how to play this game.
I know how to play."
Josh McDermitt,
any... any particular holiday memories
stand out for you when you were a kid?
I remember... there was this one time
when... there was a
store by my... my house.
I think it's gone now.
It's called... it was called Smitty's.
It's kind of like a Walmart-type store
where you can just do...
go there and do anything.
You could go, you
know, buy your clothes,
you could get your oil changed.
There's a restaurant,
get your groceries.
- It was just, like, all that.
- Yeah.
And my friends and I were,
like, really into football cards.
Like, baseball cards, but for football.
And we went to Smitty's,
and all the football cards
from this one brand...
and I don't remember
what brand it was...
but you can kind of see
through the back of the package,
and you could see what football player
was, like, on the last card.
So you would just find a
certain one where you're like,
"Well, I got Jerry Rice's
rookie card in this one."
So, you know, you would just...
you would collect all
those, go buy them.
And then we would take them to the
baseball card shop and resell them.
And so we had, like...
it was almost like a
little racket. Right?
Well, one of the neighbor kids found out
that this is how we were
making some extra money.
So he shows up, and
he took all the base...
all the football cards from us.
And so we started chasing
him through Smitty's.
And it was like one of
those... it was like a western
where, like, we'd both
turn down an aisle,
and we're, like... it's like a face-off.
They're down... he's down on
this end. We're on this end.
We're like, "get out!" And
we'd, like, chase after him.
He's, like, running with
all the football cards.
And we tackled him
in the birdseed aisle,
and birdseed went everywhere,
and we got apprehended
by store security.
Fun fact... store security
was also Santa Claus.
[LAUGHS]
Santa, of course, took
over your card racket,
and then that was it.
He's like, "I'm gonna
take over this racket."
He... he sold off all the
Bo Jackson rookie cards.
"It sure would be a shame if you
was to end up on the naughty list.
I'm just saying, it would be a shame.
It would be a shame."
Cailey, how do you think Judith
would celebrate the holidays?
'Cause we've never actually
seen our group celebrate the holidays.
So you... I feel like Judith
is a really creative person.
So she'd probably be the one
to decorate the tree or
to decorate the house.
And they'd probably make
ornaments for their tree.
I bet their tree is all homemade
ornaments that Judith made.
- Right.
- And R.J. probably helped her.
And she probably might
have family dinner,
and Carol brings the cookies.
She would have to. [LAUGHS]
- Yeah, she would have to.
- I also think Judith
would be in the corner
sharpening a candy cane,
and then if, like... then...
yeah, then if a walker came
in, just pbht, like, right
through the... right through the chin
and then... but then also
a Christmas decoration.
You rehang it on the tree,
and you're good to go.
Yeah. Exactly. It's a homemade ornament.
This wouldn't be a holiday
special without music.
So we have a couple great
performances coming up.
First of all, a parody
of "12 Days of Christmas"
called "10 Seasons of
'The Walking Dead,'"
which will be epically
sung by Khary Payton
Cooper Andrews, Eleanor
Matsuura, and Cassidy McClincy.
But first, it is my extreme
pleasure to introduce
the incredibly talented Emily Kinney,
who will be accompanied by Adam Tressler
for a very special version
of "Up on the Housetop."
[INTRO PLAYS]
♪♪
♪ Up on the house top, reindeer pause ♪
♪ Out jumps good old Santa Claus ♪
♪ Down through the
chimney with lots of toys ♪
♪ All for the little
ones' Christmas joys ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Up on the housetop ♪
♪ Down through the chimney
with good Saint Nick ♪
♪♪
♪ First comes the
stocking of little Nell ♪
♪ Oh, dear Santa, fill it well ♪
♪ Give her a dolly
that laughs and cries ♪
♪ One that can open and shut its eyes ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Up on the housetop ♪
♪ Down through the chimney
with good Saint Nick ♪
♪♪
♪ Next comes the stocking of little Will ♪
♪ Oh, just see what a glorious fill ♪
♪ Here is a hammer and lots of tacks ♪
♪ Also a ball and a whip that cracks ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Up on the housetop ♪
♪ Down through the chimney
with good Saint Nick ♪
♪ Down through the chimney
with good Saint Nick ♪
Emily Kinney, excellent performance.
Thank you so much, Emily.
She's gonna be joining
us right after the break,
along with T-Dog
himself, Irone Singleton.
We will be right back on the first-ever
"Walking Dead" Holiday Special.
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
["DECK THE HALLS" PLAYS]
♪♪
Welcome back to "The Walking
Dead" Holiday Special.
We are back with Cailey
and Lauren and Josh,
now joined by Irone Singleton,
T-Dog himself, and, of course,
Emily Kinney. Emily, amazing job.
I mean, this is not a
holiday special without music,
so thank you for bringing
beautiful music to the program.
I know "Walking Dead" fans are
so thrilled to see you perform.
Can you talk a little bit about
what their continued support
has meant to you so many years
even after being on the show?
Yeah, it's cool because,
you know, it... with Beth,
she was a singer, and she
got to sing on the show.
And because of that, a lot
of "The Walking Dead" fans,
who are so awesome and so
supportive of all of us,
they got to know Beth a
little bit more through music.
And then they also checked out my music
and got to know me as a
singer and a songwriter.
So it's been... it's been really awesome
to stay connected in that way.
And, yeah, I'll have
new music out next year.
And, yeah, it's been awesome.
Having done this show for a decade,
what we started to
realize early on is, like,
oh, this is a community.
Like, this is, like,
once you're part of the
"Walking Dead" family,
you're always a part of
"The Walking Dead" family.
Case in point, Irone
Singleton, who when T-Dog died,
and I think for a long time
on "Talking Dead"... I...
there was an exclamation
of, "not T-Dog!"
You know, that was kind of
when we started to figure out
on this show of, like, ah, man,
we lose characters that we love so much.
It's so good to see you, man.
People are very excited
that you're on the show,
like pumpkinqueen519
on Instagram, who says,
"What do you miss most,
and what did you love most
about being on the show?"
I... I loved the handshakes,
the hugs, the kisses,
all the love that I
received from my castmates,
particularly on the parting
day when Alison was crying,
when Reedus was handing me my shield.
And I think Emily was
crying a little bit.
But Alison was right there.
I was like, "Don't cry.
You gonna make me cry,
Alison." I... but, yeah.
That's what I miss most.
This is from TWD.FTWDladies on Instagram,
and they want to know, "Irone,
who was the funniest cast member
on set in those early seasons?"
[LAUGHS]
Instant laughter because I
thought of my man Bernthal.
Jon Bernthal.
You know, a lot of people
would... would think Steven Yeun
just because he came through
Second City and all that stuff.
But Bernthal, at the beginning,
he's kind of quiet and bashful.
But once you get to know him, look out.
Zingers left and right.
[LAUGHTER]
This, of course, would
not be a holiday special
without a reunion of some
sort. And I'm very excited
that we were able to
reunite the Greene sisters.
Emily, can you talk about
some of your fondest memories
of working with Lauren?
I feel like from the
very beginning, there was
a really special connection
between us and between Scott.
And I can even remember one time on set,
like, us saying to each other,
"Oh, my gosh, I'm so glad it was you",
because probably so
many people, you know,
auditioned for these roles
and it felt so easy, like, to be honest.
But as I've gone on to
work on different shows,
then I have especially
come to appreciate
how... how great it
was to work with Lauren,
because it's not always
that easy on other sets.
And so I don't know.
Something happened with casting
or whatever, where it just happened
to line up that it...
it did feel like family.
It's so true. I was thinking that, too.
Just, like, for you to feel like...
really feel like my younger sister.
And I've said that to you before.
And I've thought that. It's...
it's... it's that way that
you really treat someone
like your younger sister,
whether they want you to
treat them like it or not
sometimes. Like... like, I
have this protective, like,
I'm gonna give you
advice when something...
when we talk about something,
sometimes I have to remind myself,
"No, she's not your real
sister. She's your friend."
Josh, Katy P on Facebook wants to know,
"What would you say is your
favorite Eugene scene or episode?"
One that stands out is when I got...
when I ate all that mac and cheese,
and then I got to throw up
on Selena... I mean Christian.
And that was really fun to do that
because I think they used
the same rig... Greg Nicotero
and his guys used the same rig
because they did "The Hateful
Eight", too, for Tarantino.
And it was the same thing
that... not to spoil anything,
but the... when Kurt Russell threw up,
apparently it was the
same rig that he wore,
and that was the highlight of my career.
It did... but...
[LAUGHS]
I have a question for Cailey
from bigbrother1988 on Twitter.
"What was the most intense moment
you've shot on the show so far?"
That's a good question.
In season 9, whenever Judith
and Michonne are on the rocks,
that is definitely my
all-time favorite scene.
That was right after I had my
first on-screen katana kill.
And I was so excited.
And then we shot that
scene on the rocks.
And I just felt the
connection in that scene.
Coming up, a mega-size "in memoriam"
which encompasses 10 seasons
of amazing walker kills
from "The Walking Dead."
But first, here's Eleanor Matsuura
Cassidy McClincy, Khary
Payton, and Cooper Andrews
performing their version of
"12 Days of Christmas" entitled
"The 10 Seasons of 'Walking Dead.'"
[BELLS JINGLING]
Who's ready for some...
Happy-holiday cheer? Who
we got on the line? Coop?
Yeah, boss!
- What about Eleanor?
- You guys, let's do this.
Cassidy, you ready?
I'm ready to go.
Let's do this.
- [INTRO PLAYS]
- [HUMMING]
♪♪
♪ Bum, bum ♪
♪ By the first season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ A family where strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the second season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the third season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
Well, this is nice.
♪ By the fourth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the fifth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the sixth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Saviors who are scary ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the seventh season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
Oh, no.
♪ Glenn and Abe in heaven ♪
♪ Saviors who are scary ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the eighth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Poor Carl gets bitten ♪
♪ Glenn and Abe in heaven ♪
♪ Saviors who are scary ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the ninth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Rick in a copter ♪
♪ Poor Carl gets bitten ♪
♪ Glenn and Abe in heaven ♪
♪ Saviors who are scary ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the tenth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Negan takes out Alpha ♪
♪ Rick in a copter ♪
♪ Poor Carl gets bitten ♪
♪ Glenn and Abe in heaven ♪
♪ Saviors who are scary ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
- Oh, man.
- Seasons greetings!
- Hope you're all staying safe.
- Seasons greetings.
- Have a happy new year, everybody.
- And happy holidays.
I need a drink.
Mwah.
Oh, lord.
[BELLS JINGLING]
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
Welcome back to "The Walking
Dead" Holiday Special.
That was Lauren Ridloff with a special
thank-you message to all
our essential workers.
As a matter of fact, we should
have a big round of applause
for all of our essential
workers who are out there
on the front lines keeping
us safe and healthy.
Thank you so much for all that you do.
We are back with Cailey and Josh
and Emily and Irone and Lauren.
This question is for Josh
from adamdalton7 on Instagram.
"Do you remember what your
first day on set was like?"
It was a very, very long day.
The actor playing Abraham
couldn't remember his lines.
One of the most excruciating
work experiences of my life.
Thankfully, thankfully,
they fired him right away.
And then we were able to
bring in Michael Cudlitz.
So it was Larry David.
We hired Larry David
to play Abraham. That makes sense.
His hair wasn't working.
But Michael Cudlitz
already had fire-engine red hair,
and so he was ready to go.
But, yeah.
Irone, what do you remember most
about your first day on the show?
First day, 100 degrees.
100 degrees-plus.
- Yeah.
- With the humidity, it was...
we were told that it was, like...
it felt like 117 degrees.
But that's how we
bonded. Under such duress,
I think that's when the
most bonding takes place.
When you're going through it,
you know. Just kind of
takes me back to the hood.
You just... you just bond
under those circumstances.
And that's when I think
we really became a family.
Cailey, what do you remember
about your first day on set?
It wasn't that long ago,
but what do you remember about it?
So my first day on set was the scene
where Judith picks her
hat, and she's like,
"I'm Judith. Judith Grimes."
And I was so excited because
that scene is iconic for me.
Yeah. I remember Greg
directed that episode,
and I love Greg.
And we shot the scene once.
And then we shot it a second
time, and on the second take,
he was like, "That's it.
I've never done that before.
We need to do it again."
And I was like, "Okay",
so we did it again.
And I think the one that made
the cut was the second take.
And that's all I remember.
Emily, first day.
I remember the hair and
makeup trailer door opening,
and Steven was shirtless,
and they were searching him
for, like, tick bites,
and he was just like,
- "Oh, I think there's this one here."
- Oh.
And, like, he had so
many mosquito bites,
and it kind of, like,
set up the whole...
I don't know. Like, there's
just a lot of bugs in Georgia.
And like, later on, you
know, I would also be like,
"Okay, do I have ticks? Do I..."
[LAUGHS] They're, like, looking.
Like, looking for tick bites and stuff.
We were on set one day,
and then it was early on,
and we looked over and then, you know...
'cause everyone's
talking about the ticks
and there's things called
chiggers that, like, burrow
into your skin or something.
I mean, it's, like, wretched.
But we looked over, and there
was, like, some armadillos,
and they were, like, baby
armadillos, and Christian
and Alanna went over and picked them up
and played with them. And
that's how they got leprosy.
[LAUGHTER]
Coming up, we have exclusive
footage from a table read
from an upcoming episode
of "The Walking Dead."
And also later in the show,
Scott M. Gimple and Angela Kang
are gonna be joining us. But first,
before you decide if Negan is
on the Naughty or Nice List,
let's slow things down and
say a final holiday farewell
to 10 seasons' worth of
walkers that we have lost.
♪♪
_
[GUNSHOTS]
♪♪
[GROWLING]
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
[BELLS JINGLING]
- ["DECK THE HALLS" PLAYS]
- _
_
_
_
_
♪♪
["DECK THE HALLS" PLAYS]
♪♪
♪♪
Welcome back to "The Walking
Dead" Holiday Special.
We're back with Cailey and Lauren
and Josh and Irone and Emily.
Hey, here's a fun gift idea.
The St. Daryl candle in all its glory.
But now we have a
question sent in by a fan.
But you know what? I'm
gonna let them do it.
Roll it.
Hi, everyone. I'm Devonda from Missouri,
and I'm a huge fan
of "The Walking Dead."
This question is for everyone.
If your "Walking Dead" character
was invited to a holiday party,
what would they be
in charge of bringing?
I guess let's start with...
who wants to go first?
You want to... Lauren,
do you want to go first?
I think I would bring
maybe the turkey, like,
that I had... had...
had gotten myself,
but if there's any vegetarians watching,
I want you to know this is Maggie.
This is... this is "Walking Dead" land.
It's a... it's a healthy Turkey.
It had a good life.
But that feels most in the
pocket of that character
that somebody said, "Would
you bring something?"
And maybe it's sort
of over her shoulder.
And she says, "Here you go." Got it.
Cailey, what would Judith
bring to the holiday party?
She would probably be
in charge of the games.
Okay, any... any
particular game stick out?
What... what... what holiday games?
Maybe there's a walker.
It's like Pin the Tail on the donkey,
but it's a walker in a Santa hat,
and you have to pin
the hat on the walker.
That's really nice. That's... I was,
my... my brain was like,
"pin the jaw on the Walker."
You got to pin the limbs back on.
You're like, "Oh, a Santa hat."
'Cause it's... it's the holidays.
We're gonna make him festive.
That was a... that was a
much better answer than mine.
[LAUGHTER]
So this is for Emily and Irone.
Now that we know that
the show is ending...
in a couple of years.
We still got a couple of
years, we don't have to cry yet.
We still got a couple years.
Who... who do you think will be...
who would you want to see
the last person standing?
We'll start with Emily.
I just think it's gonna be
probably Norman. Or Norman and Melissa.
I think that's... I think that's just...
Oh, Maggie. Maggie. Of course.
Your own sister is right there!
I...
I don't know what I was thinking.
Actually, you know what?
I think that it might
be my... if... if Beth
or if I, Emily Kinney,
was writing the script
for the end, I would definitely
pick Maggie as the one
who is, like, the ruler
of all of the new world, you know?
Epic save.
They beat the zombies.
They beat the zombies.
It's all over. Maggie is president.
[LAUGHS]
And then the helicopter
would bring in Michonne,
and it lands. She...
Yeah, she's the winner.
CHRIS: But then Maggie's
like, "This is my turf now."
And then they battle it out.
Irone, what about you?
So, of course, you know,
my... my two sisters and brother here,
they're still on the show.
So you put me on the spot, but...
- Cadaryl sounds so awesome.
- Mm-hmm.
And we gonna throw you all in the mix.
- But Cadaryl.
- Yeah.
And then, plus, I started
thinking someone. So, you know,
you're an O.G., L.C. You're an O.G.
- But they are, like, O.G.
- The O.O.G.
Oh, okay.
You know, I love you all. I... I got...
I think... I got to say Judith.
I really think Judith is gonna
be, like, the leader of the new world.
I just... I've always felt that.
From that first iconic scene with her,
it was like, she's...
she's... that's our leader.
She's the leader of the new world, so...
- Yay!
- I just got chills, actually.
CHRIS: Also please know
that I have no influence
or control over anything
that happens on the show.
But if I were... I'm
gonna tell you something.
We're... we're gonna take a quick break
because there are people
who are coming on the show
who can make that happen.
And I'm gonna lean on them to do that.
But first, I want to thank
Irone and Emily for being here.
Thank you so much for
being such special parts
of "The Walking Dead" family.
And forever you will be part
of "The Walking Dead" family.
It's so wonderful to see you both.
Please stay safe and healthy.
And thank you so much for being here.
Coming up, we have exclusive
footage of a table read
from an upcoming episode
of "The Walking Dead."
Plus, we'll be joined by Scott
M. Gimple and Angela Kang.
But, hey, when our show
is done, if you want
to keep the conversation about "The
Walking Dead" going all the time,
head on over to the
twitch channel TWDUniverse.
There are live streams four days a week.
You're gonna get to
convene with other fans
and keep the conversation
going 'round the clock.
So that's on twitch.
TWDUniverse is the name.
And we'll be right back on "The
Walking Dead" Holiday Special.
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
Hi. Melissa McBride
here, and I have wishes,
wishes for peace and
a joyful heart to you
and all of your loved ones
in whatever ways you can find
to be together this holiday season.
And you're here because you're part of
a very big family, "The
Walking Dead" family,
millions scattered across the world.
And I thank you because we
couldn't be here without you.
And we've been working
on some new episodes
that are coming starting in February.
And I'm so excited for you to see them.
Until then, please keep safe,
keep well, and have a very,
very, very happy holiday season.
♪♪
Welcome back to "The Walking
Dead" Holiday Special.
That was a wonderful message for you,
the fans, from Melissa McBride.
Now we are joined by executive producer
Angela Kang and chief content officer
for "The Walking Dead"
universe, Scott M. Gimple
to our virtual holiday spectacular.
Now, Scott, in the
spirit of the holidays,
can you gift us with any information
about "The Walking Dead" universe
or, let's say, this "movie"
that we've heard a lot
about? 'Cause a lot of times,
asking you questions
about "Walking Dead",
it's like... it's like five
boxes nested in each other.
And I shake the box,
and I try to figure out
what the gift is inside, and
I can never figure it out.
You're uncrackable, but
in the spirit of the
holidays, what can you tell us?
Two years ago, almost to the day,
I was in the wilds of England
with Mr. Andy Lincoln
working on the movie.
And because we work in television,
we thought we would be working
on the second one right now.
Movies take a long time.
But it'll be worth the wait.
It is moving forward.
The COVID time kind of
slowed things down anyways,
but we're using that
time to go back to the lab
and make it as great as possible.
I know that doesn't give you much.
I think you can barely hear
anything rattling around the box.
No, actually what you gave
me was a really nice socks.
- But it's happening.
- Like, socks are great.
- I will give you a couple other things.
- I wanted a Nintendo Switch,
but that's fine.
We're working on something
with one of the great
"Walking Dead" villains of all time,
and it's coming together.
And we are working on a straight
"Walking Dead" comedy right now.
You know, we're not
making fun of our world,
but it's just more of a
comedic take on the world.
And then, you know, there's
this show about these...
Characters Daryl and Carol
that people might like.
And there's also this
anthology we're working on.
So I don't know. It's
socks, I guess, for you.
It's socks for you, Chris. Socks for you.
But they're really nice
socks, though. Like, wool.
They're really, really gorgeous.
They've got a lot of...
a lot of nice earth tones.
Angela, you all have done such
an amazing job of completely
reconfiguring how "The Walking Dead"
is done in light of
the last nine months.
So may I ask, what is the
gift that you might offer fans
about what we can expect
from the extended 10th season?
I'm really excited about
so much in these episodes.
They're... they're these really
focused stories, each one.
So you really get to dive into
people in a fun way, I think.
So, you know,
we get to do a whole little
arc with Daryl and Carol
that I think is really fun.
We get to see that group
that got caught by some folks
in some white trooper armor.
So that's Ezekiel, Eugene,
Yumiko, and Princess.
So we're gonna find out a little
more about what's going on there.
I'm really excited to share an episode
that's got Gabriel and Aaron
with Robert Patrick as the guest star.
- Oh, wow.
- For people who know that actor.
He's amazing. I've
been a fan of him, like,
forever and ever and ever.
So we... you know, he's...
he's amazing in the episode,
as well as our actors are amazing.
We'll find out about what
Maggie's been up to a little bit.
There's... there's a lot
of story to unpack there.
And there's obviously
that Maggie-Negan story
that we're gonna be seeing.
And then for the Negan fans,
we're going to do our version of
the comic book story "Here's Negan!"
And Lucille is gonna be played by JDM's
real-life wife, Hilarie Burton Morgan.
And they're amazing together.
So I'm... I'm really excited
for everyone to kind of
see our various people getting to shine.
Now, Scott, that's a friggin' gift bag
- of information right there.
- Oh, gosh.
- That was a stocking full of...
- Oh.
- That was a bountiful...
- That's how you do it, man.
CHRIS: [LAUGHS]
- That's how you do it.
- The toys are, like...
But the toys there are, like,
we've been making those toys.
Those toys are being made.
We're... we're sort of planning
the other toys right now.
- I see.
- You know, we're in R&D.
- Yeah, but we're gonna go go play
- Oh, geez.
with those toys, though.
We're gonna go play with
the toys that Angela gave us.
Fair play.
Before we go to break, I want
to show you some stuff here.
So we got this "Walking Dead"
holiday hoodie right here,
which is very soft and
very "Walking Dead-y."
This "Woodbury Rocks" glass.
Now, these are from the "Horde
for the Holidays" edition
of The Walking Dead supply drop.
They're available just
in time for the holidays.
And they're at the new official
online store for all things
Go there and pick one up now.
And, of course, everyone in
the studio is gonna get one.
Oh, it's just me.
So I'll just... I'll just take this one.
Coming up, we have an
exclusive look at a table read
for an upcoming episode
of the extended 10th season
of "The Walking Dead."
We'll be right back.
I'll take you, too, glass.
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
_
"Exterior. Alexandria.
Day. Daryl's covered in mud,
motor oil, and walker gore."
What the hell happened to you?
I was gonna ask you the same thing.
"Carol's covered in
drywall, plaster dust.
Her skin's streaked with sweat."
They look like they've
been through hell.
- Hey.
- You don't have to apologize.
I'm good. Really.
I was just gonna wish you luck.
"Without any further word,
they each take different paths."
♪♪
Welcome back to "The Walking
Dead" Holiday Special.
That was a table read
from an upcoming episode
called "Diverged" from
the extended season 10.
We're back with Cailey
and Lauren and Josh
and now joined by Scott and Angela.
Lauren and Josh, what are you
excited for the fans to see in 2021?
I'm excited about it.
Angela, tell us more things
about what we're gonna do in 2021.
That's what I'm excited about next year.
What about you, Josh?
I did the table read.
I read the scene direction for the table
read on JDM's episode, "Here's Negan",
and I texted him after. I was like,
"This is probably gonna
be my favorite episode
of... of the series." I'm
really excited about it.
Before we go, we have a very special
little bit of Christmas magic.
- Some might call it a poem. If you will, a po-em.
- Oh.
Our version of "'Twas the
Night Before Christmas."
And then pull up a cocoa.
You mean like this cocoa?
Yeah, here we go.
"'Twas the night of the holiday party,
and all through the land,
not a creature was stirring,
not even Merle's hand.
The crossbows were polished,
the ponchos were clean,
the vests were angelic,
all winged and supreme.
The candies and cookies
were set out on a barrel.
And please rest assured,
they were all made by Carol.
Later that night,
Daryl handed out snacks
until a loud noise stopped
him right in his tracks."
Oh, there's adventure afoot.
"He threw open the front
door and looked all around
and noticed some presents
stacked high on the ground.
A bracelet for Carol and
some books for the Grimeses.
A picture for Maggie in happier times.
Aaron, Luke, and Jerry all got socks,
and Eugene was thrilled
with his brand-new pet rocks.
Magna received hats upon
hats, while Connie and Kelly
got thousands of cats.
And Princess new goggles,
all bright and all pink.
And great Shiva's ghost! Ezekiel got it.
Rosita and Coco and Gabriel laughed
when they all were
gifted a baby giraffe."
Could happen.
"The room was filled with
chatter and cheer all around,
and giggles and singing
and so many sounds.
But there in the corner
alone stood a man.
In fact, it was Negan,
no gift in his hand.
At his feet, he found dog,
who was making a racket
and chewing on Negan's
new leather jacket." Gasp.
"Daryl walked over with
neither glee nor delight,
but he still said,
'Hey, Negan, we're all
friends here tonight.'
and with then... " that's...
thank you. Thank you.
"And that's when they
saw it high up on a shelf,
a new walkie-talkie.
Was it left by an elf?
They heard static and crackling,
but nothing made sense.
The room became so quiet,
so serious, so tense.
Together, they gathered, a
closer look they did take,
when a helicopter overhead
made the entire house shake.
And then a voice on the walkie
was heard so clear and so bright.
It was Rick Grimes himself wishing
peace unto all, and to all a good night."
♪♪
Wow. See, Scott? That's how you do it.
[LAUGHS]
It's been so wonderful to
see all of you. Honestly,
this is gonna be my
holiday party this year.
So thank you so much
for being a part of it.
Thank you for watching the first-ever
"Walking Dead" Holiday Special.
This has been great, and
I hope we provided you
with some holiday cheer this year.
I also personally want to thank
our staff and crew from "Talking Dead",
who made this "Walking Dead"
holiday special possible.
Make sure to check out Emily Kinney
Also, she has a new album
and her podcast, "Caffeine Withdrawal."
Also look for Irone
Singleton on "Safety",
which is coming to Disney+.
I'm very happy to announce
that "Talking Dead" will
be returning in the new year
for a special preview special
about the upcoming
extended season 10 episodes,
and February 28th,
we will be airing directly
after "The Walking Dead"
for those extended season 10 episodes.
Again, I want to thank you.
I want you to stay safe and
healthy this holiday season,
and I can't wait to see in the new year.
All right. Take care. I'm
Chris Hardwick. Bye-bye.
Bye, guys.
♪♪
Dead" Holiday Special.
This is the first one, the first
one of these we've ever done.
Why did it take us 10 years to do this?
Well, it doesn't matter,
because we're doing it now
and we're gonna celebrate
with our "Walking Dead" family
and... and bring you some
much needed holiday cheer.
That is my goal for you.
I want to give you some holiday cheer.
We're gonna do that with singing.
We're gonna do that
with lots of surprises,
information, surprise
guests, we're gonna have.
We're gonna have a...
a mega "in memoriam",
okay, with... with 10 seasons'
worth of epic walker kills.
And obviously, look, of course
we wish we could be
doing this in person.
Of course we wish we
could be with our family
and friends in person.
But you know what?
Virtually is the way to go this
year. So that's we're gonna do.
We're gonna make the best of it.
And... and I really hope you
join us along while we do that.
Now, let's talk about
guests for this episode.
We have Judith Grimes.
Cailey Fleming will be here.
We have Lauren Cohan.
We have Emily Kinney.
We're gonna reunite the Greene sisters.
We have Josh McDermitt, A.K.A. Eugene,
and also T-Dog himself.
Irone Singleton will be here.
I'm very excited about that.
And, of course, Angela Kang
and Scott M. Gimple, as well.
We're gonna talk about the future
of "The Walking Dead" and
"The Walking Dead" universe.
So more information and
tidbits on that, too.
So tons of epic holiday gifts
I lay at your feet as
we begin the first-ever
"Walking Dead" Holiday Special!
[BELLS JINGLING]
Later in the show, Irone Singleton's
gonna be joining us, and Emily Kinney
is gonna perform a holiday classic.
But right now, please
say hello to my guests
Cailey Fleming, Lauren
Cohan, and, of course,
Josh McDermitt, joining
us for this holiday...
- Whoo-whoo!
- ... Spectacular.
Very nice to see everyone.
Josh, you got the
garland in the background.
That's fantastic.
- Cailey has a gorgeous...
- Just trying to be festive.
A... a tree back
there, and then, Lauren,
I think that could be
considered a holiday plant.
[LAUGHING] Sure.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
I was gonna do it before today,
and it just... it just didn't happen,
but that cushion has some red, so...
You know what? It's fine. It doesn't...
you know what? It's fine. The
holiday spirit's in our hearts.
It doesn't have to be in
an elaborate, you know,
decorative holiday set like
here. I mean, this is nothing.
Just a little something we
threw together. It's whatever.
It's fine. It's fine. Let's
talk about the holidays.
Lauren, did you have any specific
holiday traditions growing up?
I mean, my family, so we're, like,
half English, half American,
half celebrate the Hanukkah,
half celebrate Christmas.
But our family's favorite tradition
seriously is, we play "Celebrity."
Everybody calls it
something different, I guess.
But you know where you have...
you do... the first time
you do the clues, and
then you do a charade,
- and then you do just one motion.
- Yeah.
This makes sense, I think.
So our grandfather plays with
us, and he is such a stickler
for rules in every element of life.
So he insists that
he's following the rules
when we play this game.
But he... every one
of his clues is a rhyme
that sounds exactly like the clue.
But he insists he's following the rules.
And he's very old,
and he's very English.
And so one year, one of his clues
was Michael Jackson. And he... [LAUGHS]
and he gets really mad when
you tell him he's cheating.
So he said, "it sounds like...
Ichael Ackson. Ichael
Ackson", like this,
and you're like, "no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
That's... that's...
that's not a good clue."
He's like, "Lauren, I
know how to play this game.
I know how to play."
Josh McDermitt,
any... any particular holiday memories
stand out for you when you were a kid?
I remember... there was this one time
when... there was a
store by my... my house.
I think it's gone now.
It's called... it was called Smitty's.
It's kind of like a Walmart-type store
where you can just do...
go there and do anything.
You could go, you
know, buy your clothes,
you could get your oil changed.
There's a restaurant,
get your groceries.
- It was just, like, all that.
- Yeah.
And my friends and I were,
like, really into football cards.
Like, baseball cards, but for football.
And we went to Smitty's,
and all the football cards
from this one brand...
and I don't remember
what brand it was...
but you can kind of see
through the back of the package,
and you could see what football player
was, like, on the last card.
So you would just find a
certain one where you're like,
"Well, I got Jerry Rice's
rookie card in this one."
So, you know, you would just...
you would collect all
those, go buy them.
And then we would take them to the
baseball card shop and resell them.
And so we had, like...
it was almost like a
little racket. Right?
Well, one of the neighbor kids found out
that this is how we were
making some extra money.
So he shows up, and
he took all the base...
all the football cards from us.
And so we started chasing
him through Smitty's.
And it was like one of
those... it was like a western
where, like, we'd both
turn down an aisle,
and we're, like... it's like a face-off.
They're down... he's down on
this end. We're on this end.
We're like, "get out!" And
we'd, like, chase after him.
He's, like, running with
all the football cards.
And we tackled him
in the birdseed aisle,
and birdseed went everywhere,
and we got apprehended
by store security.
Fun fact... store security
was also Santa Claus.
[LAUGHS]
Santa, of course, took
over your card racket,
and then that was it.
He's like, "I'm gonna
take over this racket."
He... he sold off all the
Bo Jackson rookie cards.
"It sure would be a shame if you
was to end up on the naughty list.
I'm just saying, it would be a shame.
It would be a shame."
Cailey, how do you think Judith
would celebrate the holidays?
'Cause we've never actually
seen our group celebrate the holidays.
So you... I feel like Judith
is a really creative person.
So she'd probably be the one
to decorate the tree or
to decorate the house.
And they'd probably make
ornaments for their tree.
I bet their tree is all homemade
ornaments that Judith made.
- Right.
- And R.J. probably helped her.
And she probably might
have family dinner,
and Carol brings the cookies.
She would have to. [LAUGHS]
- Yeah, she would have to.
- I also think Judith
would be in the corner
sharpening a candy cane,
and then if, like... then...
yeah, then if a walker came
in, just pbht, like, right
through the... right through the chin
and then... but then also
a Christmas decoration.
You rehang it on the tree,
and you're good to go.
Yeah. Exactly. It's a homemade ornament.
This wouldn't be a holiday
special without music.
So we have a couple great
performances coming up.
First of all, a parody
of "12 Days of Christmas"
called "10 Seasons of
'The Walking Dead,'"
which will be epically
sung by Khary Payton
Cooper Andrews, Eleanor
Matsuura, and Cassidy McClincy.
But first, it is my extreme
pleasure to introduce
the incredibly talented Emily Kinney,
who will be accompanied by Adam Tressler
for a very special version
of "Up on the Housetop."
[INTRO PLAYS]
♪♪
♪ Up on the house top, reindeer pause ♪
♪ Out jumps good old Santa Claus ♪
♪ Down through the
chimney with lots of toys ♪
♪ All for the little
ones' Christmas joys ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Up on the housetop ♪
♪ Down through the chimney
with good Saint Nick ♪
♪♪
♪ First comes the
stocking of little Nell ♪
♪ Oh, dear Santa, fill it well ♪
♪ Give her a dolly
that laughs and cries ♪
♪ One that can open and shut its eyes ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Up on the housetop ♪
♪ Down through the chimney
with good Saint Nick ♪
♪♪
♪ Next comes the stocking of little Will ♪
♪ Oh, just see what a glorious fill ♪
♪ Here is a hammer and lots of tacks ♪
♪ Also a ball and a whip that cracks ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? ♪
♪ Up on the housetop ♪
♪ Down through the chimney
with good Saint Nick ♪
♪ Down through the chimney
with good Saint Nick ♪
Emily Kinney, excellent performance.
Thank you so much, Emily.
She's gonna be joining
us right after the break,
along with T-Dog
himself, Irone Singleton.
We will be right back on the first-ever
"Walking Dead" Holiday Special.
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
["DECK THE HALLS" PLAYS]
♪♪
Welcome back to "The Walking
Dead" Holiday Special.
We are back with Cailey
and Lauren and Josh,
now joined by Irone Singleton,
T-Dog himself, and, of course,
Emily Kinney. Emily, amazing job.
I mean, this is not a
holiday special without music,
so thank you for bringing
beautiful music to the program.
I know "Walking Dead" fans are
so thrilled to see you perform.
Can you talk a little bit about
what their continued support
has meant to you so many years
even after being on the show?
Yeah, it's cool because,
you know, it... with Beth,
she was a singer, and she
got to sing on the show.
And because of that, a lot
of "The Walking Dead" fans,
who are so awesome and so
supportive of all of us,
they got to know Beth a
little bit more through music.
And then they also checked out my music
and got to know me as a
singer and a songwriter.
So it's been... it's been really awesome
to stay connected in that way.
And, yeah, I'll have
new music out next year.
And, yeah, it's been awesome.
Having done this show for a decade,
what we started to
realize early on is, like,
oh, this is a community.
Like, this is, like,
once you're part of the
"Walking Dead" family,
you're always a part of
"The Walking Dead" family.
Case in point, Irone
Singleton, who when T-Dog died,
and I think for a long time
on "Talking Dead"... I...
there was an exclamation
of, "not T-Dog!"
You know, that was kind of
when we started to figure out
on this show of, like, ah, man,
we lose characters that we love so much.
It's so good to see you, man.
People are very excited
that you're on the show,
like pumpkinqueen519
on Instagram, who says,
"What do you miss most,
and what did you love most
about being on the show?"
I... I loved the handshakes,
the hugs, the kisses,
all the love that I
received from my castmates,
particularly on the parting
day when Alison was crying,
when Reedus was handing me my shield.
And I think Emily was
crying a little bit.
But Alison was right there.
I was like, "Don't cry.
You gonna make me cry,
Alison." I... but, yeah.
That's what I miss most.
This is from TWD.FTWDladies on Instagram,
and they want to know, "Irone,
who was the funniest cast member
on set in those early seasons?"
[LAUGHS]
Instant laughter because I
thought of my man Bernthal.
Jon Bernthal.
You know, a lot of people
would... would think Steven Yeun
just because he came through
Second City and all that stuff.
But Bernthal, at the beginning,
he's kind of quiet and bashful.
But once you get to know him, look out.
Zingers left and right.
[LAUGHTER]
This, of course, would
not be a holiday special
without a reunion of some
sort. And I'm very excited
that we were able to
reunite the Greene sisters.
Emily, can you talk about
some of your fondest memories
of working with Lauren?
I feel like from the
very beginning, there was
a really special connection
between us and between Scott.
And I can even remember one time on set,
like, us saying to each other,
"Oh, my gosh, I'm so glad it was you",
because probably so
many people, you know,
auditioned for these roles
and it felt so easy, like, to be honest.
But as I've gone on to
work on different shows,
then I have especially
come to appreciate
how... how great it
was to work with Lauren,
because it's not always
that easy on other sets.
And so I don't know.
Something happened with casting
or whatever, where it just happened
to line up that it...
it did feel like family.
It's so true. I was thinking that, too.
Just, like, for you to feel like...
really feel like my younger sister.
And I've said that to you before.
And I've thought that. It's...
it's... it's that way that
you really treat someone
like your younger sister,
whether they want you to
treat them like it or not
sometimes. Like... like, I
have this protective, like,
I'm gonna give you
advice when something...
when we talk about something,
sometimes I have to remind myself,
"No, she's not your real
sister. She's your friend."
Josh, Katy P on Facebook wants to know,
"What would you say is your
favorite Eugene scene or episode?"
One that stands out is when I got...
when I ate all that mac and cheese,
and then I got to throw up
on Selena... I mean Christian.
And that was really fun to do that
because I think they used
the same rig... Greg Nicotero
and his guys used the same rig
because they did "The Hateful
Eight", too, for Tarantino.
And it was the same thing
that... not to spoil anything,
but the... when Kurt Russell threw up,
apparently it was the
same rig that he wore,
and that was the highlight of my career.
It did... but...
[LAUGHS]
I have a question for Cailey
from bigbrother1988 on Twitter.
"What was the most intense moment
you've shot on the show so far?"
That's a good question.
In season 9, whenever Judith
and Michonne are on the rocks,
that is definitely my
all-time favorite scene.
That was right after I had my
first on-screen katana kill.
And I was so excited.
And then we shot that
scene on the rocks.
And I just felt the
connection in that scene.
Coming up, a mega-size "in memoriam"
which encompasses 10 seasons
of amazing walker kills
from "The Walking Dead."
But first, here's Eleanor Matsuura
Cassidy McClincy, Khary
Payton, and Cooper Andrews
performing their version of
"12 Days of Christmas" entitled
"The 10 Seasons of 'Walking Dead.'"
[BELLS JINGLING]
Who's ready for some...
Happy-holiday cheer? Who
we got on the line? Coop?
Yeah, boss!
- What about Eleanor?
- You guys, let's do this.
Cassidy, you ready?
I'm ready to go.
Let's do this.
- [INTRO PLAYS]
- [HUMMING]
♪♪
♪ Bum, bum ♪
♪ By the first season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ A family where strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the second season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the third season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
Well, this is nice.
♪ By the fourth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the fifth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the sixth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Saviors who are scary ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the seventh season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
Oh, no.
♪ Glenn and Abe in heaven ♪
♪ Saviors who are scary ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the eighth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Poor Carl gets bitten ♪
♪ Glenn and Abe in heaven ♪
♪ Saviors who are scary ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the ninth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Rick in a copter ♪
♪ Poor Carl gets bitten ♪
♪ Glenn and Abe in heaven ♪
♪ Saviors who are scary ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
♪ By the tenth season
of "The Walking Dead" ♪
♪ My TV gave to me ♪
♪ Negan takes out Alpha ♪
♪ Rick in a copter ♪
♪ Poor Carl gets bitten ♪
♪ Glenn and Abe in heaven ♪
♪ Saviors who are scary ♪
♪ Morgan Jones returns ♪
♪ Looking at the flowers ♪
♪ Baby Judith's birth ♪
♪ Hershel and his farm ♪
♪ And a family where
strangers used to be ♪
- Oh, man.
- Seasons greetings!
- Hope you're all staying safe.
- Seasons greetings.
- Have a happy new year, everybody.
- And happy holidays.
I need a drink.
Mwah.
Oh, lord.
[BELLS JINGLING]
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
Welcome back to "The Walking
Dead" Holiday Special.
That was Lauren Ridloff with a special
thank-you message to all
our essential workers.
As a matter of fact, we should
have a big round of applause
for all of our essential
workers who are out there
on the front lines keeping
us safe and healthy.
Thank you so much for all that you do.
We are back with Cailey and Josh
and Emily and Irone and Lauren.
This question is for Josh
from adamdalton7 on Instagram.
"Do you remember what your
first day on set was like?"
It was a very, very long day.
The actor playing Abraham
couldn't remember his lines.
One of the most excruciating
work experiences of my life.
Thankfully, thankfully,
they fired him right away.
And then we were able to
bring in Michael Cudlitz.
So it was Larry David.
We hired Larry David
to play Abraham. That makes sense.
His hair wasn't working.
But Michael Cudlitz
already had fire-engine red hair,
and so he was ready to go.
But, yeah.
Irone, what do you remember most
about your first day on the show?
First day, 100 degrees.
100 degrees-plus.
- Yeah.
- With the humidity, it was...
we were told that it was, like...
it felt like 117 degrees.
But that's how we
bonded. Under such duress,
I think that's when the
most bonding takes place.
When you're going through it,
you know. Just kind of
takes me back to the hood.
You just... you just bond
under those circumstances.
And that's when I think
we really became a family.
Cailey, what do you remember
about your first day on set?
It wasn't that long ago,
but what do you remember about it?
So my first day on set was the scene
where Judith picks her
hat, and she's like,
"I'm Judith. Judith Grimes."
And I was so excited because
that scene is iconic for me.
Yeah. I remember Greg
directed that episode,
and I love Greg.
And we shot the scene once.
And then we shot it a second
time, and on the second take,
he was like, "That's it.
I've never done that before.
We need to do it again."
And I was like, "Okay",
so we did it again.
And I think the one that made
the cut was the second take.
And that's all I remember.
Emily, first day.
I remember the hair and
makeup trailer door opening,
and Steven was shirtless,
and they were searching him
for, like, tick bites,
and he was just like,
- "Oh, I think there's this one here."
- Oh.
And, like, he had so
many mosquito bites,
and it kind of, like,
set up the whole...
I don't know. Like, there's
just a lot of bugs in Georgia.
And like, later on, you
know, I would also be like,
"Okay, do I have ticks? Do I..."
[LAUGHS] They're, like, looking.
Like, looking for tick bites and stuff.
We were on set one day,
and then it was early on,
and we looked over and then, you know...
'cause everyone's
talking about the ticks
and there's things called
chiggers that, like, burrow
into your skin or something.
I mean, it's, like, wretched.
But we looked over, and there
was, like, some armadillos,
and they were, like, baby
armadillos, and Christian
and Alanna went over and picked them up
and played with them. And
that's how they got leprosy.
[LAUGHTER]
Coming up, we have exclusive
footage from a table read
from an upcoming episode
of "The Walking Dead."
And also later in the show,
Scott M. Gimple and Angela Kang
are gonna be joining us. But first,
before you decide if Negan is
on the Naughty or Nice List,
let's slow things down and
say a final holiday farewell
to 10 seasons' worth of
walkers that we have lost.
♪♪
_
[GUNSHOTS]
♪♪
[GROWLING]
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
[BELLS JINGLING]
- ["DECK THE HALLS" PLAYS]
- _
_
_
_
_
♪♪
["DECK THE HALLS" PLAYS]
♪♪
♪♪
Welcome back to "The Walking
Dead" Holiday Special.
We're back with Cailey and Lauren
and Josh and Irone and Emily.
Hey, here's a fun gift idea.
The St. Daryl candle in all its glory.
But now we have a
question sent in by a fan.
But you know what? I'm
gonna let them do it.
Roll it.
Hi, everyone. I'm Devonda from Missouri,
and I'm a huge fan
of "The Walking Dead."
This question is for everyone.
If your "Walking Dead" character
was invited to a holiday party,
what would they be
in charge of bringing?
I guess let's start with...
who wants to go first?
You want to... Lauren,
do you want to go first?
I think I would bring
maybe the turkey, like,
that I had... had...
had gotten myself,
but if there's any vegetarians watching,
I want you to know this is Maggie.
This is... this is "Walking Dead" land.
It's a... it's a healthy Turkey.
It had a good life.
But that feels most in the
pocket of that character
that somebody said, "Would
you bring something?"
And maybe it's sort
of over her shoulder.
And she says, "Here you go." Got it.
Cailey, what would Judith
bring to the holiday party?
She would probably be
in charge of the games.
Okay, any... any
particular game stick out?
What... what... what holiday games?
Maybe there's a walker.
It's like Pin the Tail on the donkey,
but it's a walker in a Santa hat,
and you have to pin
the hat on the walker.
That's really nice. That's... I was,
my... my brain was like,
"pin the jaw on the Walker."
You got to pin the limbs back on.
You're like, "Oh, a Santa hat."
'Cause it's... it's the holidays.
We're gonna make him festive.
That was a... that was a
much better answer than mine.
[LAUGHTER]
So this is for Emily and Irone.
Now that we know that
the show is ending...
in a couple of years.
We still got a couple of
years, we don't have to cry yet.
We still got a couple years.
Who... who do you think will be...
who would you want to see
the last person standing?
We'll start with Emily.
I just think it's gonna be
probably Norman. Or Norman and Melissa.
I think that's... I think that's just...
Oh, Maggie. Maggie. Of course.
Your own sister is right there!
I...
I don't know what I was thinking.
Actually, you know what?
I think that it might
be my... if... if Beth
or if I, Emily Kinney,
was writing the script
for the end, I would definitely
pick Maggie as the one
who is, like, the ruler
of all of the new world, you know?
Epic save.
They beat the zombies.
They beat the zombies.
It's all over. Maggie is president.
[LAUGHS]
And then the helicopter
would bring in Michonne,
and it lands. She...
Yeah, she's the winner.
CHRIS: But then Maggie's
like, "This is my turf now."
And then they battle it out.
Irone, what about you?
So, of course, you know,
my... my two sisters and brother here,
they're still on the show.
So you put me on the spot, but...
- Cadaryl sounds so awesome.
- Mm-hmm.
And we gonna throw you all in the mix.
- But Cadaryl.
- Yeah.
And then, plus, I started
thinking someone. So, you know,
you're an O.G., L.C. You're an O.G.
- But they are, like, O.G.
- The O.O.G.
Oh, okay.
You know, I love you all. I... I got...
I think... I got to say Judith.
I really think Judith is gonna
be, like, the leader of the new world.
I just... I've always felt that.
From that first iconic scene with her,
it was like, she's...
she's... that's our leader.
She's the leader of the new world, so...
- Yay!
- I just got chills, actually.
CHRIS: Also please know
that I have no influence
or control over anything
that happens on the show.
But if I were... I'm
gonna tell you something.
We're... we're gonna take a quick break
because there are people
who are coming on the show
who can make that happen.
And I'm gonna lean on them to do that.
But first, I want to thank
Irone and Emily for being here.
Thank you so much for
being such special parts
of "The Walking Dead" family.
And forever you will be part
of "The Walking Dead" family.
It's so wonderful to see you both.
Please stay safe and healthy.
And thank you so much for being here.
Coming up, we have exclusive
footage of a table read
from an upcoming episode
of "The Walking Dead."
Plus, we'll be joined by Scott
M. Gimple and Angela Kang.
But, hey, when our show
is done, if you want
to keep the conversation about "The
Walking Dead" going all the time,
head on over to the
twitch channel TWDUniverse.
There are live streams four days a week.
You're gonna get to
convene with other fans
and keep the conversation
going 'round the clock.
So that's on twitch.
TWDUniverse is the name.
And we'll be right back on "The
Walking Dead" Holiday Special.
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
Hi. Melissa McBride
here, and I have wishes,
wishes for peace and
a joyful heart to you
and all of your loved ones
in whatever ways you can find
to be together this holiday season.
And you're here because you're part of
a very big family, "The
Walking Dead" family,
millions scattered across the world.
And I thank you because we
couldn't be here without you.
And we've been working
on some new episodes
that are coming starting in February.
And I'm so excited for you to see them.
Until then, please keep safe,
keep well, and have a very,
very, very happy holiday season.
♪♪
Welcome back to "The Walking
Dead" Holiday Special.
That was a wonderful message for you,
the fans, from Melissa McBride.
Now we are joined by executive producer
Angela Kang and chief content officer
for "The Walking Dead"
universe, Scott M. Gimple
to our virtual holiday spectacular.
Now, Scott, in the
spirit of the holidays,
can you gift us with any information
about "The Walking Dead" universe
or, let's say, this "movie"
that we've heard a lot
about? 'Cause a lot of times,
asking you questions
about "Walking Dead",
it's like... it's like five
boxes nested in each other.
And I shake the box,
and I try to figure out
what the gift is inside, and
I can never figure it out.
You're uncrackable, but
in the spirit of the
holidays, what can you tell us?
Two years ago, almost to the day,
I was in the wilds of England
with Mr. Andy Lincoln
working on the movie.
And because we work in television,
we thought we would be working
on the second one right now.
Movies take a long time.
But it'll be worth the wait.
It is moving forward.
The COVID time kind of
slowed things down anyways,
but we're using that
time to go back to the lab
and make it as great as possible.
I know that doesn't give you much.
I think you can barely hear
anything rattling around the box.
No, actually what you gave
me was a really nice socks.
- But it's happening.
- Like, socks are great.
- I will give you a couple other things.
- I wanted a Nintendo Switch,
but that's fine.
We're working on something
with one of the great
"Walking Dead" villains of all time,
and it's coming together.
And we are working on a straight
"Walking Dead" comedy right now.
You know, we're not
making fun of our world,
but it's just more of a
comedic take on the world.
And then, you know, there's
this show about these...
Characters Daryl and Carol
that people might like.
And there's also this
anthology we're working on.
So I don't know. It's
socks, I guess, for you.
It's socks for you, Chris. Socks for you.
But they're really nice
socks, though. Like, wool.
They're really, really gorgeous.
They've got a lot of...
a lot of nice earth tones.
Angela, you all have done such
an amazing job of completely
reconfiguring how "The Walking Dead"
is done in light of
the last nine months.
So may I ask, what is the
gift that you might offer fans
about what we can expect
from the extended 10th season?
I'm really excited about
so much in these episodes.
They're... they're these really
focused stories, each one.
So you really get to dive into
people in a fun way, I think.
So, you know,
we get to do a whole little
arc with Daryl and Carol
that I think is really fun.
We get to see that group
that got caught by some folks
in some white trooper armor.
So that's Ezekiel, Eugene,
Yumiko, and Princess.
So we're gonna find out a little
more about what's going on there.
I'm really excited to share an episode
that's got Gabriel and Aaron
with Robert Patrick as the guest star.
- Oh, wow.
- For people who know that actor.
He's amazing. I've
been a fan of him, like,
forever and ever and ever.
So we... you know, he's...
he's amazing in the episode,
as well as our actors are amazing.
We'll find out about what
Maggie's been up to a little bit.
There's... there's a lot
of story to unpack there.
And there's obviously
that Maggie-Negan story
that we're gonna be seeing.
And then for the Negan fans,
we're going to do our version of
the comic book story "Here's Negan!"
And Lucille is gonna be played by JDM's
real-life wife, Hilarie Burton Morgan.
And they're amazing together.
So I'm... I'm really excited
for everyone to kind of
see our various people getting to shine.
Now, Scott, that's a friggin' gift bag
- of information right there.
- Oh, gosh.
- That was a stocking full of...
- Oh.
- That was a bountiful...
- That's how you do it, man.
CHRIS: [LAUGHS]
- That's how you do it.
- The toys are, like...
But the toys there are, like,
we've been making those toys.
Those toys are being made.
We're... we're sort of planning
the other toys right now.
- I see.
- You know, we're in R&D.
- Yeah, but we're gonna go go play
- Oh, geez.
with those toys, though.
We're gonna go play with
the toys that Angela gave us.
Fair play.
Before we go to break, I want
to show you some stuff here.
So we got this "Walking Dead"
holiday hoodie right here,
which is very soft and
very "Walking Dead-y."
This "Woodbury Rocks" glass.
Now, these are from the "Horde
for the Holidays" edition
of The Walking Dead supply drop.
They're available just
in time for the holidays.
And they're at the new official
online store for all things
Go there and pick one up now.
And, of course, everyone in
the studio is gonna get one.
Oh, it's just me.
So I'll just... I'll just take this one.
Coming up, we have an
exclusive look at a table read
for an upcoming episode
of the extended 10th season
of "The Walking Dead."
We'll be right back.
I'll take you, too, glass.
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
♪♪
[BELLS JINGLING]
_
"Exterior. Alexandria.
Day. Daryl's covered in mud,
motor oil, and walker gore."
What the hell happened to you?
I was gonna ask you the same thing.
"Carol's covered in
drywall, plaster dust.
Her skin's streaked with sweat."
They look like they've
been through hell.
- Hey.
- You don't have to apologize.
I'm good. Really.
I was just gonna wish you luck.
"Without any further word,
they each take different paths."
♪♪
Welcome back to "The Walking
Dead" Holiday Special.
That was a table read
from an upcoming episode
called "Diverged" from
the extended season 10.
We're back with Cailey
and Lauren and Josh
and now joined by Scott and Angela.
Lauren and Josh, what are you
excited for the fans to see in 2021?
I'm excited about it.
Angela, tell us more things
about what we're gonna do in 2021.
That's what I'm excited about next year.
What about you, Josh?
I did the table read.
I read the scene direction for the table
read on JDM's episode, "Here's Negan",
and I texted him after. I was like,
"This is probably gonna
be my favorite episode
of... of the series." I'm
really excited about it.
Before we go, we have a very special
little bit of Christmas magic.
- Some might call it a poem. If you will, a po-em.
- Oh.
Our version of "'Twas the
Night Before Christmas."
And then pull up a cocoa.
You mean like this cocoa?
Yeah, here we go.
"'Twas the night of the holiday party,
and all through the land,
not a creature was stirring,
not even Merle's hand.
The crossbows were polished,
the ponchos were clean,
the vests were angelic,
all winged and supreme.
The candies and cookies
were set out on a barrel.
And please rest assured,
they were all made by Carol.
Later that night,
Daryl handed out snacks
until a loud noise stopped
him right in his tracks."
Oh, there's adventure afoot.
"He threw open the front
door and looked all around
and noticed some presents
stacked high on the ground.
A bracelet for Carol and
some books for the Grimeses.
A picture for Maggie in happier times.
Aaron, Luke, and Jerry all got socks,
and Eugene was thrilled
with his brand-new pet rocks.
Magna received hats upon
hats, while Connie and Kelly
got thousands of cats.
And Princess new goggles,
all bright and all pink.
And great Shiva's ghost! Ezekiel got it.
Rosita and Coco and Gabriel laughed
when they all were
gifted a baby giraffe."
Could happen.
"The room was filled with
chatter and cheer all around,
and giggles and singing
and so many sounds.
But there in the corner
alone stood a man.
In fact, it was Negan,
no gift in his hand.
At his feet, he found dog,
who was making a racket
and chewing on Negan's
new leather jacket." Gasp.
"Daryl walked over with
neither glee nor delight,
but he still said,
'Hey, Negan, we're all
friends here tonight.'
and with then... " that's...
thank you. Thank you.
"And that's when they
saw it high up on a shelf,
a new walkie-talkie.
Was it left by an elf?
They heard static and crackling,
but nothing made sense.
The room became so quiet,
so serious, so tense.
Together, they gathered, a
closer look they did take,
when a helicopter overhead
made the entire house shake.
And then a voice on the walkie
was heard so clear and so bright.
It was Rick Grimes himself wishing
peace unto all, and to all a good night."
♪♪
Wow. See, Scott? That's how you do it.
[LAUGHS]
It's been so wonderful to
see all of you. Honestly,
this is gonna be my
holiday party this year.
So thank you so much
for being a part of it.
Thank you for watching the first-ever
"Walking Dead" Holiday Special.
This has been great, and
I hope we provided you
with some holiday cheer this year.
I also personally want to thank
our staff and crew from "Talking Dead",
who made this "Walking Dead"
holiday special possible.
Make sure to check out Emily Kinney
Also, she has a new album
and her podcast, "Caffeine Withdrawal."
Also look for Irone
Singleton on "Safety",
which is coming to Disney+.
I'm very happy to announce
that "Talking Dead" will
be returning in the new year
for a special preview special
about the upcoming
extended season 10 episodes,
and February 28th,
we will be airing directly
after "The Walking Dead"
for those extended season 10 episodes.
Again, I want to thank you.
I want you to stay safe and
healthy this holiday season,
and I can't wait to see in the new year.
All right. Take care. I'm
Chris Hardwick. Bye-bye.
Bye, guys.
♪♪