‘The Walking Dead’ Spin-off Casts Aussie Actress Alycia Debnam Carey, Kiwi Actor Cliff Curtis

Australian actress Alycia Debnam Carey and New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis have been cast in the lead for the upcoming “The Walking Dead” spin-off. “Cobalt” will also star British actor Frank Dillane.

As Deadline reports, the companion series will take place during the same zombie apocalypse depicted on the current hit show. The show will focus on four main characters, a male divorced teacher and a female guidance counsellor with a daughter and a son.

Carey will be playing the ambitious daughter, while Dillane will play the son who has battled drug problem. Curtis will play the teacher, who is described as “a good man who tries to do right by everyone in his life.” The female guidance counsellor hasn’t been cast yet.

This isn’t Curtis’ first U.S. show. The 46-year-old Maori actor has appeared in a few television shows, including the NBC drama “Trauma,” the ABC mystery thriller “Missing,” and the Fox action drama “Gang Related.”

He was also in Hollywood films, such as “Live Free or Die Hard,” “The Last Airbender” and “The Dar Horse” and “Training Day.” Back in his native New Zealand, he starred in the critically acclaimed films “The Dark Horse” and “Whale Rider.”

Carey recently appeared in the disaster film “Into the Storm” alongside “The Hobbit” star Richard Armitage. She also appeared in the Logie Award-winning drama “McLeod’s Daughters.”

Dillane is perhaps best known for playing Tom Riddle Jr in “Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince.” He will be seen next in the Ron Howard-directed biological thriller “In the Heart of the Sea,” which stars Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw and Brendan Gleeson.

The spin-off’s pilot, which was announced in September, is penned by “The Walking Dead” comic book author Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson.