With ratings that continually rival even the network juggernauts like The Big Bang Theory, it was only a matter of time before AMC announced a spinoff of its zombie series The Walking Dead. That’s just what happened a few months ago, when the network unveiled plans to develop a “companion series” that will follow an entirely new group of characters in the same zombie-infested universe that continues to plague Sad Rick, Maybe-Psychopath Carl, and the rest of the Georgia-based gang. Comics creator and TWD producer Robert Kirkman is executive producing the companion series alongside fellow Walking Dead producers Gale Anne Hurd and Dave Alpert, but beyond a 2015 premiere date details have been scarce.

Now a new report claims to have inside info on the possible premise of the new Walking Dead series, which may actually take place before the events of the current show. Read on after the jump.

The folks over at TV Line are hearing that the Walking Dead companion series will be “a prequel of sorts” that would focus on the early days of the zombie epidemic and the effort to contain it. The outlet is quick to note that this is still very early days so producers could further tweak this idea or throw it out altogether before it goes into production, but it’s definitely an interesting angle with which to approach the Walking Dead universe.

Some early critics of the series complained about not seeing any of the turmoil that arose just after the zombie epidemic began, and this idea would give the producers the opportunity to explore the real-world reaction to the zombie infestation. Of course some of the tension is already deflated since viewers know just how dark and desolate things get for the major metropolis areas, but should this new set of characters catch on, we could follow them all the way through and past the major evacuations in subsequent seasons.

Kirkman recently told IGN that this new show won’t be set in Georgia and we already know the story and characters won’t be based on any existing material from his graphic novel series, so this is really a blank slate that could inject a freshness to the world of The Walking Dead. Again nothing is in concrete yet so don’t count on this being the premise for the spinoff series, but personally I think it’s a neat idea.

What say you, dear readers? Would you be interested in seeing the early days of The Walking Dead in a new series, or is there another avenue you hope the show to explore? Sound off in the comments below, and if you’ve missed any of Dave’s recaps of the show’s current season, click here.