An actor is very fortunate to have a multi-season run on a series. An actor is even more fortunate to get to see a series through to its natural conclusion. Lauren Cohan went above and beyond that with her Walking Dead journey. Not only did she play Maggie in over 100 episodes of the main series, but then she got to go on to headline a spin-off series opposite Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and that spin-off series earned her her very first executive producing credit and now her very first directing credit as well. She’s a key component of one of the biggest television empires ever created, and she’s making the most of the opportunities that franchise affords her - opportunities she’s earned.

The Walking Dead: Dead City picks up a number of years after the events of the main series. When Hershel (Logan Kim) is kidnapped by the Croat (Željko Ivanek) and taken to Manhattan, Maggie must turn to Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) for help. While Maggie does manage to make it off the island with Hershel, Negan is pressured to remain by The Dama (Lisa Emery). Season 2 kicks off about a year later with the New Babylon Federation conscripting the residents of The Bricks to head into Manhattan for an expeditionary mission tied to their agenda to ultimately retake it. Maggie agrees to go, but only if no one else from her community is forced to do the same. So back to Manhattan she goes, along with a stubborn Ginny (Mahina Napoleon) and a stowaway Hershel.

After powering through five episodes of Season 2 as an executive producer and playing Maggie trying to survive yet another perilous mission in the Big Apple, the time has some for Cohan to put on yet another hat. With the release of Season 2, Episode 6, “Bridge Partners Are Hard to Come by These Days,” she is officially a director. In celebration of the milestone achievement, Cohan joined me for a Collider Ladies Night conversation to discuss her early days on The Walking Dead, her experience advocating for herself when her initial series regular contract concluded, how she approached stepping into the executive producer role with Dead City, and how she felt about taking on an extremely ambitious episode for her very first venture as a director. 

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