‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8: Get Ready for More Simon, Enid and Jadis!

Lori Acken April 17, 2017, 4:00 pm

Steven Ogg as Simon in The Walking Dead — Gene Page/AMC

Steven Ogg as Simon in *The Walking Dead*

Look for more of Steven Ogg’s comically charismatic Savior Simon (hurray!), Katelyn Nacon’s Maggie-mentored teen Enid (hurray!), and Pollyanna McIntosh’s Queen of the Garbage Gang, Jadis (not-so-hurray!) when The Walking Dead returns for Season 8 in October.

Katelyn Nacon as Enid – The Walking Dead

TVLine reported Monday that Ogg, Nacon and McIntosh have officially been upgraded to series regulars. Which is not too surprising given what looks to be an impending showdown (or possibly uneasy truce—or both—if you’re leaning on the comics?) between the Saviors, the double-crossing Scavengers and the united Hilltop/Kingdom/Alexandria front.

As Negan’s apparent second in command—and a guy who seriously rivals his boss in the one-liner department—Ogg’s Simon quickly became a fan favorite from the Savior camp. And with Maggie’s baby on the way and brave Sasha in the ground, Enid looks like a good bet for big sister/junior-leader-in-training material, rather than just Carl’s crush, Judith’s sometime nanny and Hilltop’s healthy-meal maker.

As for Jadis, we’ll say this: It’s hard to keep your eyes off of McIntosh. And we secretly love her ability to completely rubble Rick. But please, lady. Throw a couple complete sentences in there every now and then to keep us from wanting to gouge our eardrums out.

The Best and Worst 'Walking Dead' Characters of Season 7

Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple also told TV Line that Season 8 has its own feel now that we know all the players in the turf war and all the teams seem to understand the competition. Or understand it better, anyway. This is The Walking Dead, after all.

Pollyanna McIntosh as Jadis – The Walking Dead

“There are twists and turns to it, definitely some small-scale things and some large-scale things and a whole different momentum to the story,” Gimple told TV Line’s Michael Ausiello. “It’s going to become a bit more kinetic and fast-moving, because that’s where the story is going. The content is definitely going to be determining the form.”