Earlier this year, the producers revealed that they are working on a number of spinoff shows based on the original The Walking Dead. And that’s not even including the two other spinoff shows that have already been aired, Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond. In the process of its announcement, the producers spoiled that some of the characters of The Walking Dead will survive the finale. That’s because these characters will be running their own spinoff shows. Things are about to become pretty interesting for the show and they’ve not even scratched the surface. Here’s a run-through of the spinoff shows AMC has lined up for The Walking Dead.
Fear the Walking Dead Season 8
Let’s start off with the spinoff shows that we already know about. First, there’s Fear the Walking Dead, which is actually a prequel to the original TWD series. The show, now in its 8th season, first premiered in 2015. Fear the Walking Dead (FTWD) follows the journey of Alicia (played by Alycia Debnam-Carey) and Victor (played by Colman Domingo) after a nuclear warhead blast in Texas. Other characters of the original series, such as Morgan (played by Lennie James), Sherry (played by Christine Evangelista), and Dwight (played by Austin Amelio) have crossed over onto the FTWD spinoff series at some point. Just recently, the show entered production status with a target release date in 2023.
The Walking Dead: World Beyond
The other TWD spinoff series that has already aired is The Walking Dead: World Beyond. This takes place a decade after the zombie apocalypse and gives us a glimpse into the Civic Republic Military. If you can recall, they’re the same group that took Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln) via a helicopter in The Walking Dead Season 9. Although the spinoff series never hinted where Rick is, it is the link between another show that will bring back the fan favorite character. But more on that later. Unfortunately, The Walking Dead: World Beyond has always been planned as a two-season limited series. And the show has aired its finale episode last December 2021. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Matthew Negrete explained why The Walking Dead: World Beyond only had two seasons: “The thing about World Beyond, it was always about how can we make this feel different?” “So we’re really looking at these two seasons as two very different feeling chapters of hopefully a very satisfying book. We’re closing in right now with the writers on the last few episodes. So we’re getting down to the wire. It’s exciting. I hope people dig it.”
Tales of the Walking Dead
It’s always interesting to see new characters that the showrunners introduce in The Walking Dead universe. And this August, a new spinoff series premiered to do exactly that. Tales of the Walking Dead is an anthology series based on the zombie apocalyptic show. It has a total of six episodes, with each getting released every week until September 11th. The stories in this show take place in another timeline, some occurring in the past. But mostly, it highlights the life of Alpha (played by Samantha Morton) before she became Alpha. One of the things that highlight this spinoff show is the casting: Parker Posey, Olivia Munn, and Terry Crews fighting against zombies. Sign us up!
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
Another spinoff we can expect in the future is one that stars Daryl (played by Norman Reedus) in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. When it was first announced, the plan was to feature the unlikely friendship between Daryl and Carol (played by Melissa McBride). Unfortunately, McBride had to depart from the upcoming spinoff since it is set to be filmed in France. AMC revealed that “relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time.” The spinoff show was supposed to start filming right after TWD wraps up so it could meet the 2023 target release date. But now that McBride has exited the show, it looks like the unnamed series will be a Daryl-only show. This will be an interesting show to look forward to since Daryl is a character that was never part of the original comic book series where the show is based from. But ever since the start, he’s gotten a larger fan base than the main protagonist, Rick Grimes. If you’re worried about Carol dying in the finale of The Walking Dead Season 11 Part 3, AMC has addressed the backlash on Twitter by assuring fans that they are looking for a way to continue Carol’s story. While nothing has been confirmed at this point, there’s a chance that she could get her own miniseries or make a guest appearance on another show in the future.
The Walking Dead: Dead City
Up until last week, this spinoff show was supposed to be called Isle of the Dead. The title of the show was then changed to The Walking Dead: Dead City. This spinoff brings together the unlikely and surprising pairing of Maggie (played by Lauren Cohan) and Negan (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in a six-episode show. It comes as a surprise since Negan was the one who killed her husband right in front of her. Negan smashed the head of the much-loved character, Glenn (played by Steven Yeun), using a baseball bat in The Walking Dead Season 7. But along the way, Maggie learns to deal with Negan, as they head off to New York City. AMC Studios’ president of entertainment, Dan McDermott, revealed the plot for The Walking Dead: Dead City: “It’s going to take place on the island of Manhattan, which was left to the walkers 12 years ago when they overran Manhattan. The government decided to blow all the bridges and tunnels and just leave the island to the walkers. And it’s now 12 years later. There’s a million-walker herd that’s sort of dominating the streets of Manhattan… Maggie and Negan have to journey onto the island, where there’s a small civilian [faction] that lives in Manhattan … above the 10th floor of all the buildings, and they zipline back and forth above the streets.” Production for the show already started in New Jersey with a release date target of 2023.
The Walking Dead: Rick & Michonne
And finally, AMC is apparently bringing back two favorite characters, Rick and Michonne (played by Danai Gurira). The reveal at the San Diego Comic-Con 2022 says that the two lovers will find each other again in The Walking Dead: Rick & Michonne. At the time of its announcement, the initial plan was to create a triad of The Walking Dead movies that will star the protagonist. But it looks like this idea has been scrapped for a six-episode series with a storyline that may be expanded depending on audience reception. During the preview, showrunner Scott Gimple says that the spinoff series will bring back “Red Machete Rick,” the alter-ego of Rick who was a little unhinged by the events that took place in seasons five and six. And if there’s anyone who can help him return to normal, it will definitely be Michonne. This show remains untitled at this point and will be released sometime in 2023.
These are The Walking Dead spinoff shows that you can look forward to watching next year. We’ll update this post once more information becomes available.
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