Many critics have wondered why black characters keep on getting killed off in The Walking Dead. Showrunner Scott Gimple offered his views, saying many of the characters were not black in the script and were set to die before they were cast. The best actors just happened to be black and it's not an intentional case of killing them off.
"You know, I was aware of who was going to die last year. Even before last year for some of those characters. And at the beginning of the year, some of those characters weren't cast. It was always about casting the best person. It's very difficult.
"Bob wasn't a black character in the comics, but I wouldn't wanna miss out on Lawrence Gillard. And Noah, when we were casting him, Tyler was the best actor. I loved what he did and what he brought to the show. All sorts of people came in, from all sorts of different backgrounds and ethnicities. It's tough because I also want to be sensitive to how people feel. Two of those characters were destined to die, and they could've been cast in any direction, and I just cast the best people - or at least the people I just felt were best and I loved what they did with the role. It's weird to imagine not using them. But I did know those characters were dying, and I did cast those people.
"It's about representing the world that's there. In this case it really was about the best actor for the gig. I would've loved people to have seen Lawrence's auditions - which were totally fake sides - and he was amazing. Tyler's audition was amazing. It's a very, very difficult issue, and I honor anybody who felt hurt. It's very tricky. I would've hated to have not seen those actors on the show, because they were fantastic and are part of the family now. It's tough."
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