The Walking Dead: Dead City has a new villain ready to dominate the apocalypse. After Dead City season 2's trailer was officially released at New York Comic Con, the future of the show is brighter than ever. It was first released in 2023, after the original show came to an end in 2022. Lauren Cohan (Maggie Greene) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) are returning to reprise their season 1 roles, but they will be joined by incoming star Kim Coates and several other major cast members.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Coates and producer Scott Gimple opened up about the existence of a brand-new villain for season 2. After introducing various factions in the post-apocalyptic New York City in season 1, a new enemy with a curious name is ready to rise and pose a lasting threat to the cast. Coates' character, known as Frugal, will be a charismatic figure with immense power and an "unusual" personality. Check out their explanations below:
Screen Rant: Well, we know his character's name is Frugal. Am I correct with this? He's leader of one of the fiercest groups in New York. Can you tell us a little more about the character outside of that?
Kim Coates: Oh boy. I mean, he's hilarious. He's powerful. He's capricious. He's scary . He has some amazing scenes...
Scott Gimple: That story. There's dangerous levity. Yeah, dangerous levity. I was thinking dark irony. There's just this dark irony that, because I've binge-watched the whole original show the last couple years, and I loved it. I already loved it before, but I love to be more... seeing it. But what I think makes our show special, especially this season, is you get to see that levity and people calling each other on each other's BS and just those nods and those wings, oh boy and Kim, of course, brings that. That's incredible.
And he's totally his own thing . You can't be like, oh yeah, another, I don't know. He's a heavy, he's a villain, but he, he's so unusual. There's no one else like him. I love that. I can't wait. Yeah, that's awesome.
What Frugal's Introduction Means for Dead City
The Walking Dead Relies On Villains
Like many other zombie apocalypse shows, The Walking Dead rarely thrives when it focuses on the walkers themselves. The franchise is at its best when it has a charismatic villain. Ironically, Negan was once the character that filled that role. With him serving as more of a main protagonist of Dead City's cast, it is only natural that the show would need someone else to serve as an "unusual" but interesting villain. Whoever Frugal is, they will need to capture the audience's imagination and hatred the way that Negan once did.
If Frugal is depicted well, he will likely serve as Negan's mirror.
Negan will reportedly revisit his darker nature in season 2, but he will still likely not be the capricious killer he was. Lisa Emery's Dama has been pushing him to become an enforcer, and he is likely to make her requests a reality. Still, Maggie has had far too much of an influence on him and still pushes him to be somewhat of a better person. Negan is capable of switching between personalities, which will make that easier, and Frugal may fill Negan's role in other places. If Frugal is depicted well, he will likely serve as Negan's mirror.
Our Take On Frugal's Introduction
Coates Should Excel As Frugal
Coates has already proven that he is more than capable of playing a violent and cruel character in Sons of Anarchy. His character, Tig Trager, was the Sergeant at Arms for the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, and he never shied away from a fight. If Frugal is anything like Trager, then he will certainly be the perfect addition to a post-apocalyptic universe. New York City has become a downright hellscape, and Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 will likely only see the situation worsen as Frugal exists to capitalize on the chaos.
