‘The Walking Dead’ showrunner explains why they killed off two LGBTQ characters in season nine
Spoiler alert
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
The Walking Dead showrunner has explained why the show killed off two LGBTQ characters.
In season nine of the hit zombie show, two LGBTQ characters Tara (Alanna Masterson) and Jesus (Tom Payne) were both brutally killed leaving LGBTQ fans outraged.
But now, showrunner Angela Kang has explained to The Hollywood Reporter why it was essential for these characters to meet their demise.
She said: “It’s like the discussion we have about any character.
“For season nine, in our writers’ room itself, the LGBTQ perspective has been represented very strongly throughout the years, and this year was no exception.
“Our cast of series regulars, as well as many major recurring characters, the majority of the people are from historically underrepresented groups.
“They’re often from two or three of those groups at one time. Any one death on this show will always hit somebody who will feel, ‘There’s not enough of me represented on screen’.
“At the same time, when so many of us come from these underrepresented groups too, we don’t want to engage in tokenism.
“We want every single person to have the same full story that anyone would have. Taking death off the table for any group for any reason limits the types of stories we can tell for them, as well as our casting abilities.
“We have a really unique perspective as a room because of our status as outsides, for the most part.”