A member of The Walking Dead family has a strong message for parents whose children may be fans of the series: Don't let them watch.
Bear McCreary, who composed the haunting opening theme music, took to his Twitter account minutes before the zombie drama's fifth-season premiere Sunday with a stern warning.
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"Do not let children watch @WalkingDead_AMC tonight. Or ever again. I'm very serious," he wrote.
"Over the years Bear has signed a lot of Walking Dead autographs for kids that are 10 and under who regularly watch the show," a spokesperson for McCreary clarified in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "And as a new father he is very worried — particularly because season five is scarier and much more hardcore than in years past. He wants parents to be aware that it's getting rough and to not let young kids watch it."
Sunday's season five premiere, airing at 9 p.m., carried a TV-MA LV rating and opened with a warning that the episode contained violent content "which may be too intense for some viewers" and that "viewer and parental discretion are advised."
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The TV-MA rating means some content may be "unsuitable for children under 17." The L and V additions are for its coarse language and violence.
The fifth-season premiere featured heads being bashed in with a baseball bat and numerous people's throats being slashed — all within the opening four minutes.
McCreary later touted the hour as his "favorite episode in years, and, IMHO, the scariest score I've ever done."
Check out what executive producers Robert Kirkman and Scott M. Gimple had to say about the episode here.
AMC did not immediately respond to THR's request for comment.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
