The fifth season of Fear the Walking Dead, an American horror-drama television series on AMC, premiered on June 2, 2019, and it concluded on September 29, 2019, consisting of 16 episodes. It is a companion series to The Walking Dead, and the season contains the second crossover between the two series with the introduction of Dwight, the first being Morgan Jones in the fourth season. The season follows the group of survivors led by Morgan Jones and Alicia Clark as they search for other survivors, looking to provide help for others in an effort to make up for the wrongdoings from their pasts.
Cast
The fifth season featured eleven actors receiving main cast billing status, with eight returning from the fourth season, while three new cast members are introduced. Rubén Blades returned in the fifth season as Daniel Salazar, who didn't appear at all in the fourth season. This was the first season not to include Kim Dickens and Frank Dillane, who were both credited as main cast members in previous seasons.
Main cast
Lennie James as Morgan Jones: A mentally unstable and ruthlessly pragmatic man, formerly a part of Rick Grimes' group on The Walking Dead.
Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia Clark: The fiery yet compassionate daughter of Madison, and Nick's sister.
Maggie Grace as Althea "Al" Szewczyk-Przygocki: A curious and tactical journalist.
Colman Domingo as Victor Strand: A smart and sophisticated conman-turned-businessman, who formed friendships with Nick, Madison, and Alicia.
Danay García as Luciana Galvez: A strong and cautious former member of the La Colonia community in Tijuana, Mexico, and Nick's former girlfriend.
Garret Dillahunt as John Dorie: A lonesome and friendly police officer who is in a relationship with June.
Alexa Nisenson as Charlie: A young girl who was a spy for the Vultures until she defected to Morgan's group.
Jenna Elfman as June: A kind nurse who is in a relationship with John.
Rubén Blades as Daniel Salazar: A courageous and practical former Sombra Negra member, previously missing since the destruction of the Gonzales dam.
Austin Amelio as Dwight: A ruthless and reluctant former lieutenant of the Saviors, who was exiled from Virginia by Rick Grimes' group on The Walking Dead. He is currently searching for his missing wife Sherry who disappeared after fleeing the Saviors.
Supporting cast
Mo Collins as Sarah Rabinowitz: The adoptive sister of Wendell and a former Marine.
Daryl Mitchell as Wendell: A wheelchair-bound man and the adoptive brother of Sarah.
Matt Frewer as Logan: The former partner of Clayton who tricks Morgan's group and seizes the denim factory for himself.
Bailey Gavulic as Annie: A teenage survivor and sister to Dylan and Max.
Ethan Suess as Max: A teenage survivor and brother to Annie and Dylan.
Cooper Dodson as Dylan: Annie and Max's younger brother.
Mikala Gibson as Doris: Logan's right-hand woman.
Peggy Schott as Tess: A woman who lived with her son and husband and had never left home until her husband died.
Colby Hollman as Wes: A survivor who allies with Morgan's group.
Colby Minifie as Virginia: A leader of her own group of survivors.
Holly Curran as Janis: A woman who called Alicia and Strand for help and was saved by Wes. She later joined Morgan's group. She is Tom's sister.
Joe Massingill as Tom: A man who was being wanted by Virginia and who stole gas from Morgan and Al. He later joined Morgan's group. He is the brother of Janis.
Episodes
Production
In July 2018, AMC renewed the series for a fifth season. Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg have been the showrunners since the fourth season.
Casting
In December 2018, it was reported that Rubén Blades would return in the fifth season as Daniel Salazar. It was also reported that Daniel Sharman would return as Troy Otto, however, in April 2019, showrunner Ian Goldberg confirmed he would not return, stating "Yes, that's just a rumor. We thought he was awesome on the show, but he's not returning." In January 2019, it was reported that Austin Amelio would join the cast as Dwight, who last appeared in the eighth season of The Walking Dead. Alexa Nisenson was promoted to the main cast after recurring in the fourth season as Charlie. In March 2019, it was reported that Karen David had been added to the main cast as Grace.
Filming
Filming for the fifth season began in December 2018 in New Braunfels, Texas. It was reported that Sarah Wayne Callies, who played Lori Grimes on its companion series The Walking Dead, would direct an episode of the season, however, she was not able to due to scheduling conflicts.
Reception
Critical response
The fifth season received mixed reviews from critics and generally negative reviews from audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a rating of 55% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 5.08/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Despite delivering some memorable and splatter-filled zombie set-pieces that fans crave, Fear the Walking Dead feels stiff with early-onset rigor mortis in a fifth season that emphasizes altruism over coherent characterization."
Fan response
Following the airing of the season's penultimate episode, a Change.org petition had attracted media attention. The petition was to fire current showrunners Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss. Chambliss responded to the negative fan reaction by saying, "You know, we told the story that we believe in and we're proud of what we did and in terms of going forward, the show is changing and that's always been part of the plan. You know, it changes every season and every half season and we're very excited about the direction it's going and a lot of the tough challenges that our characters ahead are going to be facing."
