There's a lot riding on this Sunday, as it will mark the launch of AMC's companion series, 'Fear the Walking Dead.'

It will undoubtedly do some fairly good numbers due to the original show's large following, but will it be able to keep the attention of them all?

This was a question posed to showrunner Dave Erickson in an interview with IGN. In this he discusses his worries and concerns for how it will do with the general public.

In response to if there's any pressure to deliver, he answers:

"Yes. The short answer is yes! It's interesting because I've known Robert [Kirkman] for several years and we worked together on a project, we stayed in touch. I watched the show skyrocket as it did. I know the numbers. I know they beat Sunday Night Football. In all honesty, that didn't register for me for two reasons. One, we needed to focus on the core of our story - knowing we had to follow the rules, knowing there was mythology we were working in. But what was important was once we figured out these core characters, was to figure out what their stories were if the apocalypse had not happened at all and where would it go in respect to the zombies. So that was part of it. The other thing is, I think strangely the success of the show puts us in a very good place because yes, there's a lot of attention and I'm sure when we premiere we'll do a pretty good number and then we'll see what happens when we settle. But in terms of success, if we don't hit 17 million per episode for the rest of the season, I can't think that way."

He went on to address the difficulties of mapping out a prequel series, especially with a zombie horror series. Fans who are watching will already be well-informed to the threat and what the characters need to do in order to survive. He says:

"The only thing is, we never wanted the audience to get to a place where they said, "You're an idiot." For the most part, my hope is if you care about these people, you're leaning into it because it's not a question of frustration, it's just anticipation of like, "Oh God, think they'll be okay?" I think part of it is fun. I think we've paced it out in such a way that some of our characters are getting it much sooner than others. And the characters who don't, it's not that they don't acknowledge that something is gravely wrong, it's that they don't want to accept that the world is ending. One of our characters in particular, he's kind of the moral compass of the show and he's a good man and he's a fixer and he wants to make everything right and what we slowly come to realize is every good intention that he has, as the world evolves, is actually doing more harm than good."