Here is some good news for fans of 'The Walking Dead', Robert Kirkman, who created the popular show on AMC, has announced that he is planning a spin-off of the post-apocalyptic horror television drama. While viewers of the spin-off will not require having any knowledge regarding the AMC show, the fans, on the other hand, will find the upcoming show quite familiar.

In fact, this spin-off, which has been described as "Startingly different," will be an excellent entertainment opportunity for viewers who are among the few who desired to participate in the action, but were a little late for it, reports Christian Post.

AV Club recently quoted Kirkman saying, "So what we're trying to do with 'The Walking Dead' spin-off is keep the story as familiar as possible for people that love 'The Walking Dead,' so you'll get the kind of things that you expect from a Walking Dead story. But, at the same time, we'll want to tell these stories in a completely different way with completely different people in a completely different setting that's going to make for a fundamentally different show."

He went on to add, "It's a corner of the world that we have never explored in the comic book series," and explained, "So, theoretically, something like this could be happening in Los Angeles in the comic book series, but we don't show you this area of the country in the comic book series. So it fits within that world, but it is all new characters, all new events and all kinds of crazy stuff."

Meanwhile rumors say that the casting is more or less decided and this is an indication that the show is already under way. As per latest reports, Cliff Curtis and Kim Dickens have been selected for the spin-off show and they will be portraying character with very problematic pasts.

A report by TV Line claimed that Curtis will play the role of a father and a teacher called Sean Cabrera. His character has been described as a "good man trying to do right by everyone in his life." On the other hand, Kim Dickens will be demonstrating some thriller acting chops, which viewers first witnessed on 'Gone Girl'. Now she will be portraying a single mom Nancy Tompkins - just the right example of the caveats brought by "don't judge the book by its cover," says IB Times.