‘Fear the Walking Dead’ introduces new cast member

SAN DIEGO – The newest cast member of “The Walking Dead” spin-off was introduced to the zombie drama franchise in an overwhelming way.

Danay Garcia told the crowd during the “Fear the Walking Dead” panel Friday at San Diego Comic-Con International that she arrived for her first day on the Mexican set during lunch and was greeted by hordes of zombified extras chowing down.

“It happened so fast,” Garcia said. “I got the job on a Wednesday. I was in Mexico on Friday. I was on set on Monday.”

Garcia is playing Luciana, a member of a community near Tijuana, Mexico, with a very different approach to the series’ “walkers.”

“They don’t see the dead as a bad thing,” said “Fear the Walking Dead” executive producer Dave Erickson.

Frank Dillane’s recovering addict Nick encounters Garcia’s character after he ditches his fractured family earlier in the season.

“She’s testing him,” said Garcia at the pop-culture convention. “He’s the foreigner.”

The second half of the second season of “Fear the Walking Dead” will premiere Aug 21.

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Online:

http://www.amc.com/shows/fear-the-walking-dead

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang .