The Walking Dead’s most-watched episode turns ten years old as of October 12th. Greg Nicotero, director of the Season 5 premiere “No Sanctuary,” reflected on the episode in an interview.
In an interview with Comicbook.com, Nicotero looks back on the shocking premiere and provides some insight into its creation. Written by Scott M. Gimple, “No Sanctuary” premiered October 12th, 2014, on AMC. The episode is both the most-viewed of the series as well as one of the highest rated. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) along with his group were captured by residents of Terminus who intended to slaughter them. The tension-filled fight to escape Terminus caught audiences’ attention with an estimated 22 million viewers total.
Nicotero said making the episode “was one of the most gratifying experiences that I’ve ever had.” Nicotero continues, “I remember sitting with Scott Gimple and talking about the trough sequence and putting in the baseball bat as a tip to Negan’s impending arrival a couple seasons later.”
I'm shocked at what we got away with.
Nicotero described the opening as “probably the most harrowing first 10 minutes of an episode, and we got away with it.” The creation of the episode was incredibly ambitious. Nicotero said, “I mean, I’m shocked at what we got away with. We shot that episode in nine days, 10 days. I don’t even know how we did it, but we did it. And it really was just a great experience seeing all those stories applied in that particular episode.”
Greg Nicotero on Other Episodes
“No Sanctuary” wasn’t the episode Nicotero looked back on. Having been with the series since its premiere in 2010, Nicotero has worked on many episodes of the iconic show. “[‘No Sanctuary’] and ‘No Way Out,’ the Alexandria invasion, Night of the Living Dead episode, I think those are two of the strongest of the series.” Season 6 Episode 9, “No Way Out,” had ranked slightly above “No Sanctuary” in terms of reception.
In addition to the main Walking Dead Series, Greg Nicotero directed episode 1 of season 2 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol. The Episode, “La gentillesse des étrangers," premiered September 29th on AMC. The series focuses on fan favorite Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and his attempt to journey home after washing up in France. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is the franchise's fifth spin-off series and is currently airing. The spinoff can be watched on AMC.
