to go step-by-step with the comics, and has leeway in the narrative. In particular, the series's writers, along with Kirkman, often "transfer" how a character has died in the comics to a different character in the series. For example, in the fourth season, where Hershel Greene is beheaded by the Governor in the standoff with Rick's group at the prison; in the comic, Tyreese is the one who suffers this fate. Some of the television characters, like Carol, have far outlived their comic counterparts, while others that have already been killed off, like Sophia and Andrea, remained alive for some time in the ongoing comic series. In addition, the writers have included characters wholly novel to the series such as Daryl Dixon, which producer Gale Anne Hurd says helps to create a new dynamic for the series, and keeps the audience guessing from what had already been established in the comic series. Casting The Walking Dead has featured a large rotating ensemble cast. In most cases, because of the nature of the show, departure of actors from the show are determined by the writing, with characters either killed off or written off the show as necessary to develop the story. Cast members are generally told ahead of time if they have been written off the show, but otherwise kept to secrecy. For example, Steven Yeun, who played Glenn Rhee since the pilot through the season seven premiere, knew of his character's death for a year but had to keep quiet, while Chandler Riggs, playing Carl Grimes through the eighth season, was told of his character's departure during the filming in the weeks leading into his final episodes. A few actors have left the show under their own terms due to other commitments or changes, with the writings adopting the plot around these changes: Andrew Lincoln played the series's protagonist Rick Grimes since the pilot. Lincoln announced his plan to leave the show at the start of the ninth season, finding that having to spend half a year in the United States for filming left him missing out on his family in the United Kingdom. Lincoln completed five episodes in the season to close out Rick's storyline within the series, and was originally planned to be continued in three films. In July 2022, it was announced that Lincoln, along with Gurira, will star in a six-episode miniseries in the place of