Greg Nicotero works on a prop in Guts & Glory on Shudder. Photo: AMC
During my trip to Midsummer Scream 2025 in Long Beach, California, I had a chance to speak with the legendary Greg Nicotero. This time I was seeing him as a fan during a signing, and even in our brief chat he got me even more excited for his new show Guts & Glory on Shudder.
To set up the experience, it’s important to note that after all my years of covering The Walking Dead Universe I’ve never gotten an autograph or taken a selfie with the cast or crew, save for the time on The Walking Dead finale red carpet when Ross Marquand suggested we take a selfie and who am I to say no? But I digress.
I was at Midsummer Scream because my sister, who lives and breathes the Halloween spirit year-round, bought me a ticket last year and I enjoyed it so much I wanted to go again this year. When I saw that award-winning special effects artist and executive producer Greg Nicotero was going to be in attendance, I hoped to run into him. My goal was to get something signed so that it could be proudly displayed in the background during Zoom calls. So when I spotted him at his booth, I was thrilled.
Greg remembered me once I introduced myself and we soon started talking about his new show, Guts & Glory. We even chatted briefly about The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3. His enthusiasm for both shows made me even more excited for them.
Guts & Glory is a horror-based reality competition coming to Shudder on Tuesday, September 9. You can watch the trailer below:
The show’s concept is unique, fresh and exciting. Take a group of people and put them into a world where all bets are off and the only way to win the grand prize is to fight to stay alive. Simple, right?
I’ve been excited about the show since it was announced during The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2025 in July. Now that I’ve been able to see the trailer and chat with its creator, my excitement is at a fever pitch. Greg Nicotero is an icon in the horror realm and his masterful special effects have been scaring fans for years. Now he’s bringing all of his tricks of the trade to a reality show that has his fingerprints all over it.
One thing that stood out was when he said the contestants signed up for a reality series but had no idea what the concept was. It wasn’t until the show began that they realized what was happening, and that’s exactly what you see in the trailer.
Reality competitions are a dime a dozen these days, so I’m very eager to see how Guts & Glory takes the genre and throws out the rule book to create something that horror and reality fans can both enjoy.
Guts & Glory premieres Tuesday, September 9, on Shudder.
