Actress, singer, songwriter, and one-time Hallmark movie star Emily Kinney has revealed her thoughts about returning to “The Walking Dead” franchise 12 years after her character was killed off from the original show.
Kinney, 41, played Beth Greene in the much-loved horror series from 2011 until 2014, when she passed away in the season 5 episode “Coda,” after accidentally being shot in the head by Officer Dawn Lerner. She has since made a handful of brief appearances in the form of flashbacks.
However, in the Sunday, August 30 episode of spin-off show “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” she made a full-on return.
The “what-if” episode, titled “Genesis” (the sixth of season 3 of the show), imagines a world in which the zombie apocalypse didn’t happen. It follows Beth’s sister, Maggie (Lauren Cohan), to Manhattan, where she visits Beth, who’s living the dream as a music star (something fans of the original series won’t be surprised about). Early reactions to the episode have been largely positive.
Kinney spoke to People to share her thoughts on her beloved character’s return.
Emily Kinney Says Her ‘TWD’ Return Was ‘So Fun’
In a chat with People about her return to “The Walking Dead” franchise as Beth Greene, Emily Kinney began by saying, “It was so fun!”
The actress jovially continued, “Even though a lot of time had passed, I felt like I fit right in. The whole thing felt like a celebration.”
Despite being in regular contact and good friends with “The Walking Dead” head honcho Scott M. Gimple, Kinney says her return to the franchise came as a complete shock.
She added, “I had actually been in touch with Scott quite a bit, and he was being very cryptic. He didn’t mention it at all. I had no idea.”
Kinney went on, “My agents and managers asked if they could send the script and if I was interested. I started reading and immediately started crying.”
The idea of playing an alternate reality version of Beth intrigued her more than anything. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah, of course I’m gonna do this. This is so cool,'” explained Kinney.
Mere hours after Beth’s return in “The Walking Dead: Dead City” aired, fans have had their say on it on social media.
Fans React to Beth’s Return in ‘Dead City’
Viewers who watched Beth Greene’s return in the “Genesis” episode of “The Walking Dead: Dead City” appear to have enjoyed it.
One Instagram user commented on a post by the official “The Walking Dead” account saying, “I loved the episode! Hearing @emmykinney sing again felt like those old episodes when Beth would sing for the group😭❤️.”
On the same post, another individual wrote, “What a episode, but sadly we gotta wait 7 Days for another one 🥲.”
Another keen viewer on a different post (by Emily Kinney’s talent agency) said, “Stayed up until 4am to watch it on AMC+!!🥹🤍”
It was fantastic to see Emily Kinney’s Beth Greene return to “The Walking Dead” universe — albeit briefly and temporarily. Maybe we’ll get to see more alternative reality episodes of the spin-off shows that allow other long-gone characters to return in the future.
Emily Kinney’s filmography info was courtesy of IMDb.
