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"The Walking Dead" Season 10: Official Synopsis; Meet Thora Birch's Gamma; Ross Marquand Goes Lex Luthor

With the cast and crew of AMC's The Walking Dead already in a deep-dive production-wise on the tenth season, life in the Walking Dead universe has become a lot like the NFL: neither have off-seasons anymore. Last season bid farewell to Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and hello to a strong ensemble cast (and a "Big Bad" fronted by Samantha Morton in an award-earning turn as Whisperers leader Alpha). In doing so, series EP/showrunner Angela Kang did the near-impossible: made the show feel fresh and dangerous again.

Leading up to Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), – we've learned: comic book character Dante will transition to the small screen; efforts are underway to bring Lauren Cohan (Maggie) back; big themes for this season will be propaganda, paranoia, and PTSD; Michonne's (Danai Gurira) in a "hot" situation in the season's first official image; Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) possible future; Eugene's (Josh McDermitt) connection to that mysterious voice on the radio at the end of last season; and that Lincoln will not direct an episode this season.

Post-SDCC, there were a ton of teases and news (and a sad announcement, which you can check out here) – and one of those announcements was American Beauty star Thora Birch joining the series in the role of Gamma, a Whisperer who is fiercely protective of Alpha. Gamma was created specifically for thr series – so sorry, comics fans: no "cheating" this time. Now thanks to the fine folks at AMC and Skybound, we're getting our first look at Birch's Gamma – in and out of "Whisperer mode" (see above).

Speaking of "first-looks," Ross Marquand posted an image of his head clean-shaven. Biggest question: does this mean Marquand's auditioning to play Lex Luthor (watch out, Jon Cryer) – or is there more going on with Aaron that we realize? He looks a little too Whisperer-like in the image below…

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Here's our first official look at the upcoming season and the new season overview – as the war between our heroes and The Whisperers escalates, both sides must deal with issues of trust from within:

The Walking Dead is a story that started 10 years ago with one man trying to find his family. That family grew and gradually communities took shape. They fought and survived, thrived and gave birth to a new generation. It is a tale of humankind and there are more stories to tell.

It is now Spring, a few months after the end of Season 9, when our group of survivors dared to cross into Whisperer territory during the harsh winter. The collected communities are still dealing with the after effects of Alpha's horrific display of power, reluctantly respecting the new borderlines being imposed on them, all while organizing themselves into a militia-style fighting force, preparing for a battle that may be unavoidable.

But the Whisperers are a threat unlike any they have ever faced. Backed by a massive horde of the dead it is seemingly a fight they cannot win. The question of what to do and the fear it breeds will infect the communities and give rise to paranoia, propaganda, secret agendas, and infighting that will test them as individuals and as a society. The very idea of whether civilization can survive in a world filled with the dead hangs in the balance.

Skybound confirmed earlier reporting that the second The Walking Dead spinoff series (co-created by TWD CCO Scott M. Gimple and showrunner Matt Negrete) has cast Alexa Mansour (Madame Secretary), Nicolas Cantu (The Good Place), and Hal Cumpston (Bilched) to star in the next chapter of the Walking Dead universe, which follows two female protagonists with a focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the zombie apocalypse.

Mansour's character is a good-natured rule breaker who lives for today. She is likable and funny on the outside but sad on the inside. Cantu's character is small for his age in addition to being friendly and an old soul. He also has a black belt in karate. Cumpston's character is big for his age. He is a shy loner that scares some kids, but he hates the fact that he scares people.

AMC's "The Walking Dead" Season 10

Speaking of the upcoming tenth season, speculation over just how much of a role Michonne will have this season continues to grow. Of course, there's continued buzz over Lauren Cohan's Maggie returning in some capacity – especially now that ABC's Whiskey Cavalier is officially over. Michael Cudlitz is back this season to direct – and an earlier post with Cailey Fleming (Judith) melted our hearts and reminded us that we do – in fact – have the capacity to feel. Cudlitz then followed-up that post with an image that got arenaline raging as he joined Norman Reedus (Daryl) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) to reassure fans that "these fuckers are killin' it" in his episode:

The Walking Dead returns on Sunday, October 6, at 9 p.m. Fear the Walking Dead returns to Sunday nights on August 11 at 9 p.m., with production on the second spinoff series currently underway in Virginia.

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