'The Walking Dead' spin off to run concurrently with main series

Producer Robert Kirkman has said that The Walking Dead companion series will "run concurrently" with the main show.

The writer and producer explained that the spin-off would begin with an earlier timeline than the original show, but that both would "eventually form a path" running alongside each other, reported Entertainment Weekly.

"It's not going to relate to the comics at all. From the beginning of the show one thing we've heard is, 'What's going on over here or there'. So the intent of the new show is to expand that world and show another corner of the United States and what's happening there," Kirkman said.

"The timeline is taking place a little bit earlier than the original show. Rick Grimes woke up from a coma and was like, 'Oh, man, zombies, weird!' We're going to possibly see that unfold a little more in the other show.

"But I wouldn't call it 'prequel' because the entirety of the show is not going take place before The Walking Dead. It will eventually form a path running concurrently."