TWD's Producer Gale Anne Hurd Compared The Series To The Terminator
It should come as no surprise that AMC's "The Walking Dead" has reached the pinnacle of success that it has. Not only was it adapted from Robert Kirkman's beloved comic book series, but it had the powerhouse of a producer supporting its long life. Gale Anne Hurd is an esteemed veteran in the entertainment industry and is used to the type of cult status that the series has received. Starting her career in the late '70s working for Roger Corman, Hurd rose through the ranks to the impressive height of "The Terminator" franchise. Genre film and television have treated Hurd well and the producer has been reluctant to prefer one of her contributions over another.
"May I ask, how did you go from making futuristic robot battles, to rural zombie survival?" a Redditor asked during a 2014 Reddit AMA. "What flipped your interest?" With a wildly prolific career, Hurd was happy to say that she never had to choose between the two genres.
"I love them both, thankfully I didn't have a Sophie's Choice situation where I had to decide only to do one thing," Hurd answered. "What I loved about The Walking Dead is similar to The Terminator in that both are about ordinary people surviving in extraordinary worlds." Though the two franchises deal with different end-of-the-world scenarios, the uniting theme was important to Hurd in her career.
The stakes are high in The Terminator
At first glance, the characters of "The Walking Dead" and "The Terminator" may not seem all that similar. But Gale Anne Hurd creates some interesting connections that make a lot of sense. Like Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) in "The Walking Dead" Season 1, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is used to the status quo. She goes to work, has a roommate, and possesses no knowledge that one day Skynet will give birth to a race of murderous machines. But once she accepts her new reality, she must take up a mighty mantle.
In "The Terminator," Hurd pointed out to The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 that the idea is: "not only survive but save all of humanity." This is a theme at the center of all her work, be it zombies or killing machines. The producer went on to elaborate: "[Sarah Connor never thinks] that she had the skills to become this fighter. And it was told in the context of a love story. Yes, the movie is called 'The Terminator.' And, yes, it was probably sold as the story of 'The Terminator' and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But it is truly her story."
"The Terminator" takes what "The Walking Dead" has to offer and kicks it up a notch. Sarah doesn't have the luxury of just surviving. She has to raise a son while teaching him to be the world's only hope. At a time when action movies were only led by men, "The Terminator" was one of a kind.