TV Talk: Pittsburgh native Margot Bingham’s character revealed on ‘Walking Dead;’ ‘Welcome to Flatch' premieres

This column includes spoilers for the March 13 episode of “The Walking Dead.”

While other actors on “The Walking Dead” came into this zombie apocalypse series without any sense of what that might be like, Pittsburgh native Margot Bingham had the covid-19 pandemic as a bit of a guide. She was filming the upcoming movie “Dotty Soul,” starring Leslie Uggams, in Oklahoma City when film production shut down in March 2020.

“I was there the night the NBA shut down – right after that player was tonguing the microphone – two blocks away from the stadium,” Bingham recalled.

She drove to Dallas – nobody was on the roads, which made it feel even more apocalyptic — to catch a direct flight home to New York.

“People were panicking about getting on planes. I remember getting on the plane with, like, a full spacesuit, covered head-to-toe with goggles on,” she said on the phone last week from Atlanta where “The Walking Dead” films. “I looked like such a freak but I didn’t even care because everybody was just so scared. I was living ‘The Walking Dead’ and then I got to be in it. I was definitely prepped for production.”

Josh Stringer/AMC

Margot Bingham as Max in “The Walking Dead.”

Bingham first appearance on “The Walking Dead” came almost a year ago at the end of season 10. At first, it was just her voice as she struck up a flirtatious friendship with Eugene (Josh McDermitt) over the CB radio airwaves.

In recent episodes, she revealed herself to Eugene as Max, a personal assistant to Pamela Milton (Laila Robins), governor of the Commonwealth, after Eugene discovered he’d been duped by a Commonwealth spy, Stephanie (Chelle Ramos), who pretended to be the woman Eugene had talked to on the radio to extract information about other survivor groups.

When Max and Eugene finally got a chance to have a conversation in the March 13 episode, Bingham said she felt giddy.

“Josh is always so helpful and so present whenever we’re filming something, even if the camera’s not on him. He’s a very, very gracious actor and I’m very grateful for that,” Bingham said. “It just felt really nice and very cozy and comfortable.”

While it is rare for characters on “The Walking Dead” to get an ending that’s anything but traumatic, Bingham said she’s cheering for Max and Eugene anyway.

“Everybody wants a chance at love and obviously in an apocalypse there’s really slim pickings,” she said. “Both of these characters really would love to find love. And I, as Margot, hope that both of them do find it.”

Bingham, daughter of Craig Bingham, a 1980s Steelers linebacker, and Lynne Bingham, a real estate agent with Howard Hanna, grew up in Green Tree before living with her grandmother on Mount Washington while attending Pittsburgh CAPA, which she graduated from in 2006. She attended Point Park University for two years before moving to New York in 2009, landing her breakthrough role on HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” in 2013.

Additional roles followed, including in ABC’s “The Family” (2016), OWN’s “Queen Sugar” (2017), Netflix’s “She’s Gotta Have It” (2017-19), NBC’s “New Amsterdam” (2018-21) and filmed-in-Pittsburgh “One Dollar” (2018), available on Paramount+.

“There was nothing that made me happier than being able to wake up in my parents’ house and roll into work in my hometown and then have one of the best crews that I’ve ever worked with and be so proud of my city,” Bingham said. “I remember the first scene that I shot for the show. It was actually on my old street that I used to live on in the South Side. It was on 21st and Jane and I lived there when I was in college going to Point Park. And I had a moment where I was standing in the middle of the street and I just remember looking around and just taking it all in and it was pretty surreal. It felt like a full circle.”

That Pittsburgh pride extended to the “Walking Dead” set with fellow Pittsburgh native Greg Nicotero, one of the show’s directors and a makeup-effects guru.

“The second that I said, ‘Pittsburgh’ [to him], there was no turning back,” Bingham said of her interactions with Nicotero. “It was one of the best connections that we could have had, both being from Pittsburgh. It just feels like there’s like a little piece of home here, too. I’ve been lucky enough to get to work with him a couple of times and I’m even luckier to call him a friend. He’s been a very good mentor to me.”

‘Welcome to Flatch’

Already this season viewers have been treated to two excellent broadcast network comedies – CBS’s “Ghosts,” ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” – that also proved to be ratings winners. Here’s hoping Fox’s “Welcome to Flatch” will join them in the ratings winner’s circle.

Premiering at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, “Flatch” is a mockumentary series inspired by the BBC’s “This Country.” For the American version, a documentary crew visits Flatch, Ohio, and its many eccentric personalities, including cousins Shrub (Sam Straley) and Kelly (the one-named Holmes) whose many silly, immature adventures form the backbone of the series.

In one episode, Shrub gets caught drawing graffiti on church property – though Kelly points out he’s using a child’s washable marker – and Father Joe (Seann William Scott) forces Shrub to take an art class, which he hates until he learns there’s a nude, female model involved.

Father Joe is the most normal character of the bunch, but even he has some quirks, including ex-girlfriend Cheryl (Aya Cash, “The Boys”), who wants him back.

As with “The Office,” “Abbott Elementary” and other TV mockumentaries, there’s loads of good eye work by the “Flatch” actors, communicating their thoughts and feelings wordlessly with their facial expressions.

Executive produced by Jenny Bicks (“Men in Trees”), “Flatch” could stand to be a little funnier at times, but the characters are goofily likable enough to make this another broadcast comedy worth watching.

Kept/canceled/spun-off

Apple TV+ renewed comedies “The AfterParty” and “Acapulco” for second seasons.

A new season of Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” will air this summer after sitting out a couple of summers due to the pandemic. Fox also renewed “Next Level Chef” for a second season.

Freeform renewed “Grown-ish” for a fifth season with “Black-ish” star Marcus Scribner joining the cast as Andre Johnson Jr.

Netflix renewed “Vikings: Valhalla” for seasons two and three with season two streaming in 2023.

Epix renewed “Domina” for season two.

Starz renewed “Power Book IV: Force” for a second season.

IMDb TV renewed “Judy Justice” for a second season.

Netflix renewed “Never Have I Ever” for a fourth and final season.

Daytime TV shows “Judge Jerry” and “Nick Cannon” have been canceled.

Fox canceled “The Big Leap” after one season. NBC did the same with “Ordinary Joe.”

AMC ordered another “Walking Dead” spin-off, “Isle of the Dead,” featuring Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in Manhattan.

Disney+ ordered “The Muppets Mayhem,” developed by Adam F. Goldberg (“The Goldbergs”), Bill Barretta (“Muppets Haunted Mansion”) and Jeff Yorkes, a new series following the Muppets’ Electric Mayhem Band.

HBO Max ordered “The Penguin,” a limited series spin-off from the movie hit “The Batman,” with Colin Farrell reprising his role as the title character.

Channel surfing

Point Park University grad Mason Alexander Park, last seen in Netflix’s “Cowboy Bebop,” has been cast in the pilot for NBC’s proposed “Quantum Leap” sequel series. … Streaming service CNN+ will launch March 29 at $2.99 per month until April 26, $5.99 per month after that. … Beginning in late September, NBC’s shows will appear on Peacock the next day, not Hulu. … By late 2022, Disney+ will add a less expensive, ad-supported version of its subscription streaming service. … Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson will join the daytime talk show fray this fall. … Recent theatrical release “Death on the Nile” comes to HBO Max and Hulu on March 29. … TBS’s “Chad” returns for its second season at 10 p.m. April 11. … HBO’s “Barry” is back at 10 p.m. April 24.