The Walking Dead may be over, but the horde of TWD spinoffs is still creeping forward, each with its own distinct setting, characters, and tone.
Summary
- The Walking Dead franchise is still expanding with multiple spinoff shows confirmed and the potential for more to come after the original series’ 11-season run.
- “The Ones Who Live” is a sequel spinoff series that follows Michonne’s search for Rick Grimes after her departure from the original series, while Rick finds himself in another war between the living and the dead.
- “Dead City” season 2 is already in the works and will continue the story of Maggie and Negan as they face new challenges in the post-apocalyptic world, though the exact timeline for the show is unclear.
The Walking Dead has finished its 11-season run, but that does not mean the Walking Dead timeline has run out of stories, with numerous shows lurking around the corner for 2024 and beyond. The Walking Dead season 11’s ending brought AMC’s zombie flagship series to a close in 2022, rounding out 12 years of post-apocalyptic misery. The franchise’s original spinoff, Fear The Walking Dead, is also over, airing its final episode in November 2023, while subsequent spinoff The Walking Dead: World Beyond was only ever marked for a two-season run.
The Walking Dead as a larger entity, however, is still lumbering forward. Now officially branded the “Walking Dead Universe” by AMC, TV’s most famous zombie franchise is expanding, as familiar faces from the original show diverge into their own solo spinoffs. Four upcoming The Walking Dead projects are officially confirmed by AMC, but the potential for additional projects has also been teased. With numerous undead pies in the oven, details surrounding each of AMC’s upcoming The Walking Dead TV shows are in plentiful supply.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
Created by Scott M. Gimple and Danai Gurira, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is a sequel spin-off series in The Walking Dead television franchise. The series picks up some time after Michonne departs from the original series, as she searches to be reunited with her lover, Rick Grimes. Meanwhile, Rick finds himself amid another war between the living and the dead.
In 2018, The Walking Dead promised that Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes would return via a series of movies, but after that initial announcement was followed by a long period of radio silence, the project was officially remodeled into another Walking Dead TV spinoff. The show has since been retitled The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, and will debut in February 2024. Lincoln will be joined by Danai Gurira’s Michonne, who departed The Walking Dead in season 10 after finding evidence of Rick’s survival that prompted her to embark on a mission to find him.
Rick was hauled off by a CRM helicopter in The Walking Dead season 9, and audiences didn’t see Andrew Lincolnagain until the series finale. This final glimpse saw Rick attempting to escape from yet another CRM helicopter, and took place circa The Walking Dead season 10. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Livewill focus on Rick and Michonne’s respective journeys toward reuniting, but standing in their way will be the Civil Republic Military – a villainous force that has been ever-present throughout multiple Walking Dead shows. The CRM effectively serves as the overarching big bad of the Walking Dead franchise, and The Ones Who Live will finally tug that highly-anticipated thread loose after years of foreshadowing.
AMC has released several short teasers for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. While this footage gives away very few firm plot details, Rick is shown miserably working as a citizen of the Civic Republic, while Michonne, now clad in an unusual set of armor, seeks him out. Rick and Michonne’s upcoming Walking Dead spinoff has been described as an “epic love story” by Danai Gurira herself, signaling a shift away from the franchise’s typical tone.
The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2
Expected to premiere sometime in 2024
The Walking Dead: Dead City has thus far taken place almost exclusively in the Big Apple, with Maggie asking Negan for help after a group of survivors abducted her son. Premiering on June 18, 2023, The Walking Dead: Dead City season 1 ended with Maggie betraying Negan in exchange for her son’s safety. The ex-leader of the Saviors willingly handed himself over to Manhattan’s mysterious Dama, who required help to overcome another local group known as the New Babylon Federation, but Maggie ultimately resolved to rescue Negan, directly setting up a continuation. Indeed, The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 is already in the works.
Further details regarding The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 are thin on the ground. No official release date has been announced, but given the franchise’s current schedule and the fact that confirmation arrived before season 1’s finale had even aired, a 2024 premiere is a reasonable bet. Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan will return to star as Maggie and Negan, respectively, and Mahina Napoleon has already revealed Ginny’s return. Željko Ivanek’s Croat, Gaius Charles’ Perlie, and Lisa Emery’s Dama are all likely returnees.
Less clear is where The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 will sit in the franchise’s timeline. Negan previously stated that anywhere between 12 and 15 years could have passed since the Saviors were active, potentially putting his and Maggie’s spinoff ahead of any other Walking Dead show. Frustratingly, Dead City is deliberately vague about how much time has passed since The Walking Dead‘s finale.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 2 – The Book Of Carol
Expected to premiere sometime in 2024
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is a spin-off series of the core franchise that stars Norman Reedus reprising his role as the titular Daryl Dixon. Waking up on the shores of France with no clue how he got there, Daryl attempts to navigate the chaos of a European country ravaged by the zombie outbreak to find his way back to the United States.
Originally intended as a spinoff vehicle for both Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon and Melissa McBride’s Carol Peletier, AMC would ultimately retrofit this project into simply The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Launching in September 2023, the debut season followed Reedus’ rugged antihero around France after being abducted by Genet’s Pouvoir des Vivants villains while he was heading back to Alexandria. Although Daryl’s mission was to return home, he became a father figure to young Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) and grew close to the boy’s aunt, Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), during his Euro excursion.
Daryl Dixon season 1 ended with its titular protagonist torn over whether to stay in France. Given that cliffhanger, it is no surprise that The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 has already been confirmed. No release date is currently set, although, once again, AMC’s drive for round-the-year Walking Dead content makes late 2024 a logical assumption. Intriguingly, Daryl Dixon season 2 has been given the subtitle “The Book of Carol.” Following her cameo in season 1’s finale, Melissa McBride will join the cast proper in Daryl Dixon season 2, as she searches for her missing friend and follows Daryl’s trail from the US to Europe.
More Tales From TWDU
Tales of the Walking Dead, but smaller
Aired in mid-2022, Tales of the Walking Dead was a six-part anthology telling one-off stories set within The Walking Dead‘s universe, including an episode about Alpha before she became the Whisperers’ skin-clad leader. AMC has seemingly not finished mining that concept yet, as one of its upcoming Walking Dead projects is being developed under the title More Tales from TWDU. Of course, TWDU stands for “The Walking Dead Universe,” suggesting this will be another anthology showcase for one-off characters and familiar faces alike. Franchise chief Scott M. Gimple has already expressed his desire for more classic characters if Tales of the Walking Dead returns.
One big difference is that More Tales from TWDU will be a short-form series made for AMC’s Content Room, which specializes in digital originals. It appears that these short tales will be a way to connect different parts of the overall Walking Dead universe in a way that would seem disruptive if they interrupted the narrative of a regular season. It is currently unclear when More Tales from TWDU will arrive.