The ninth season features nineteen series regulars overall. For this season, Katelyn Nacon and Tom Payne were added to the opening credits, after previously being credited as "also starring".[5] Callan McAuliffe and Avi Nash were promoted to series regular status, after previously having recurring roles.[6] Samantha Morton enters the secondary cast as Alpha, the leader of the Whisperers, who will be the main antagonist of this season.[7] This will be the first season not to include Chandler Riggs and Steven Ogg (since their first appearance on the series), and the first not to include Lennie James since he was promoted to a series regular in the sixth season (James did not make any appearance on the series second and fourth seasons), all were credited as either a series regular, guest or a main cast member in previous seasons.