NEW YORK, June 22 (UPI) — Lauren Cohan says she thinks Maggie’s strained relationship with her teen son Hershel (Logan Kim) in Season 2 of the zombie-apocalypse drama, The Walking Dead: Dead City, resonates with viewers because it is such a common parent-child dynamic.
“That part of the story-line has been really complex and real and sad, and we get to unpack all of this, but mostly because he is a teenage boy and it is his responsibility to NOT do what’s best for himself,” Cohan told reporters during a recent New York Comic Con press conference.
“No,” she laughed. “It just comes with the territory that there’s going to be a push and pull between he and I, and I think that’s what makes the season really relatable for me. We’ve all been teenagers, and we’ve all known that nothing our parents say or do, can ever be right, and the rub for Maggie is that the influences that aren’t her — she’s not a perfect parent either — but the influences that aren’t her are particularly dire.”
The Walking Dead spin-off, Dead City, shows Maggie teaming up with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), her husband’s baseball-bat-wielding murderer, for an unlikely mission in New York to rescue Hershel from the clutches of the Croat (Zelijko Ivanek), a power-hungry mad man who just happens to idolize Negan and to whom Hershel has become devoted.
Taking the story back.
The season finale of #DeadCity premieres TONIGHT at 9pm on AMC or stream it early on AMC+. pic.twitter.com/QwjzrT5jxx— The Walking Dead (@WalkingDead_AMC) June 22, 2025
“The people that he came in contact with in Season 1 are going to have a lot of influence on him,” Cohan said about Hersehel.
“You always want to protect your child from danger and the danger here is maybe a little more potent than [what real kids encounter] — or not, because the dangers of social media and the dangers of mental illness for children are potent. So, I like the fact that we do this on the scale of the apocalypse, but it’s issues that are close to the heart.”
Playing resourceful and loyal community leader Maggie for two seasons on Dead City and 10 seasons on the flagship series, The Walking Dead, has taught the actress the importance of perseverance and leaving one’s comfort zone.
“You could rest on your laurels or not look for a challenge within yourself as a performer or as a teammate,” Cohan said.
“I do find myself to be very different from [Maggie] in many ways and I’m always looking for ways that I’m similar,” she added. “Knowing the best way to swing a hammer [is one]. One of the things that we, in this world, have more of a luxury to do is self-reflection and there will be more of that in our show and, so, I guess it’s just art informing life, informing art.”
Season 2 wraps up Sunday on AMC and AMC+.
Anxiety levels right now.
Catch up on the penultimate episode of #DeadCity on AMC+. pic.twitter.com/sfZLdJcE9k— The Walking Dead (@WalkingDead_AMC) June 16, 2025
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