Women Will Play A Bigger Role In The Walking Dead Season 9

The Walking Dead Season 9 will look at a lot different than the previous eight seasons. That’s due in part to the newly-appointed showrunner Angela Kang, who helped create some of the series’ most memorable episodes as a writer/producer. Kang, who has worked on the show since Season 2, revealed her vision for the show at a Kick-Ass Women of AMC panel in New York.

Outside of the breaking news that Season 9 would experience a time jump, Kang also revealed that she would focus more on women. “We’re going to see some really great stories with the women on our show, particularly,” Kang said. “And I think for people who are really invested in say Michonne, Maggie, Carol, there’s such great material for them as well as, of course, Rick and Daryl, and those other characters that we love, but for people who are looking for that specifically they will really see some incredible work from our women.”

The Michonnes, Maggies, and Carols of the world won’t be the only women to see extended screen time this season. The junkyard queen herself Jadis, who we discovered is actually named Anne and isn’t as much of a simpleton as she led on, will also get more character development. “I think we’re going to see Anne in a way that people will be very surprised by seeing a different aspect of her character,” Kang said at the panel. She’s right, we can confirm Anne will be one of the most interesting characters to watch come this Fall.

We know the women in The Walking Dead have always been tough, but in what way will they shine even brighter this season? “They go toe to toe with the men,” Kang said. “We don’t write damsels in distress.” If anything, she said, “the men are males in distress. The women save the men just as much as the men save the women. It’s really a story about survivors who help each other through the apocalypse.”

Catch the rest of Angela Kang’s quotes over at INSIDER. The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season this Fall on AMC. Expect even more news next month during The Walking Dead panel at San Diego Comic Con.