Fear the Walking Dead: Dead in the Water is a spinoff created to promote Fear the Walking Dead season 7. Written by Jacob Pinion and directed by Kenneth Requa, this prequel features a submarine crew experiencing the start of the apocalypse completely cut off from the surface. Dead in the Water gives Jason Riley (a villain appearing later in Fear the Walking Dead) his own backstory. He's stuck on the USS Pennsylvania as crew members become zombified by the minute. Spinoffs that provide extra character development are the Walking Dead spinoffs audiences want to see, as it's easier to feel connected to what's happening.