When AMC’s The Walking Dead was being created, it had the luxury of being able to borrow from the source material of the comic books. Since the comics were already quite popular, it was easy to see how much of the success of the show was because of the deep correlation to the comic series.

In fact, there were times that AMC’s The Walking Dead was a shot-for-shot homage straight from the pages of the graphic novels. The power of those scenes was already known since the showrunners already knew the response of fans by how it was received by the comic’s fans.

Now, with The Walking Dead currently in the middle of its fifth season, it’s easy to see that AMC has helped turn The Walking Dead from a popular comic book series to a hit television show. And AMC is looking to capitalize on the success by adding a companion show, currently titled “Cobalt”.

The only problem with that: Cobalt doesn’t have a comic to guide it along.

As much as I’m excited to see what these new characters will do in the new settings, Cobalt has a steep hill to climb right off the bat. The show doesn’t have the advantage of familiar characters and proven situations. Instead, they will need to develop everything from fresh beginnings.

Cobalt is off to a good start with the casting of Cliff Curtis and Kim Dickens, but even good actors can have roles and performances that don’t quite work. Under the guidance of former Sons of Anarchy’s Dave Erickson and The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Cobalt has the potential be another hit for AMC, but it will need to have fans buy in to the show’s setting, theme, and characters before it has a chance of success.

Can Cobalt give us a cast of characters that we love anywhere near as much as the ones on The Walking Dead? Or will they be left spinning their wheels in a failed attempt to get viewers to enjoy Cobalt as much as their first show?