The final run of “The Walking Dead” kicks off on October 2nd with the show to wrap up its eleven-season run with the series finale on November 20th.
After that, the future of the franchise becomes a bit hazy. The first spin-off “Fear the Walking Dead” has scored an eighth season order, the second spin-off “The Walking Dead: World Beyond” has already concluded, and the episodic anthology series “Tales of the Walking Dead” recently aired to little fanfare.
More interesting is that three more spin-offs of six episodes each have been ordered that follow the main show’s characters – the high-profile untitled Rick & Michonne series, the oddly paired Negan & Maggie-led “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” and the series centered on Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon.
That latter show was, of course, originally slated to be a two-handed focusing on Daryl and Melissa McBride’s Carol characters. There is a pairing that has proven to be the show’s emotional heart over the years, a non-romantic but intensely close and deep bond that’s been left ambiguous in the best kind of way and works thanks to excellent chemistry between the actors.
First announced as being in development in 2020, the show had to change when McBride exited. Reedus however, speaking with Variety recently, revealed that it’s not a certainty that Carol won’t be back:
“How do you know she’s not gonna come back? The spinoff was announced before we even announced ‘The Walking Dead’ was ending. We always thought we were doing a show that would come back to the flagship show – we’d take off, then come back to the flagship show.
Then they ended the flagship show, and it was us on our own. And then we shot for a year and a half straight, through the beginning of COVID. At that point, Melissa wasn’t going to do the show. And then she was going to do show. And then she wasn’t going to do the show.
Both actors have spoken fondly of each other over the years and Reedus has defended his co-star’s previously announced decision to exit, citing the flagship show’s “gruelling schedule” and the actress deserving some time off as she wanted it. He adds:
You don’t, you don’t know she’s not going to show up on the spinoff. I’ll just leave it at that. She’s a very big part of Daryl’s story, it’s all gonna be OK.”
Filming for the spin-off has already begun in France and is expected to premiere on AMC sometime in 2023, with Reedus promising a whole “different vibe” to this new series.
