The Walking Dead is coming to an end with its eleventh season and it has been quite the ride. But, as we know, the end of the flagship series that’s been in fans’ hearts for over a decade doesn’t mean this world is done. The show already has had two spinoff series, Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond, on TV. That number is continuing to grow with shows to look forward to in the nearby future. Some of them include key characters we’ve known and loved (or loved to hate) for seasons as well as new faces to meet. And, this roster of Walking Dead spinoffs will continue to expand this world in interesting ways. So, what’s coming next? Let’s dig into what we know so far.
A Carol & Daryl Walking Dead Spinoff Becomes a Daryl-Only Show
First, we will start with the one we’ve known about since 2020 but has undergone a surprising change. Carol and Daryl have been the two best friends that anyone can have since season two. And many fans ship the duo together despite both characters having other romances on the series. So the initial idea to give them their own show isn’t a surprise at all. The Carol and Daryl Walking Dead spinoff was supposed to begin production after the flagship show wraps with a release date sometime in 2023. But surprisingly, Variety has confirmed that Melissa McBride, who plays Carol, has now left the show. So it’s going to be a Daryl-only ride, which is wild when you think about it.
Daryl is a character who doesn’t even have a comic book counterpart. However, he’s grown to have just as much of a fandom, if not more, than Rick Grimes himself. If you’re thinking that Carol’s exit means she might die, I wouldn’t bet on it. A Twitter statement by AMC to address backlash about the change affirms that the show is working on a way for fans to follow Carol’s story. Perhaps she will make a guest appearance on a future show or get some miniseries of her own.
The Daryl spinoff will bring on ER’s David Zabel as the showrunner. It will be Zabel’s first time stepping into The Walking Dead‘s universe. But he will have the guidance of Angela Kang, who will be the show’s executive producer. As we know, she’s been helming the flagship series since season nine.
Initially, the show’s premise was Carol and Daryl going on a road trip of some sort. But it isn’t shocking that Daryl will tap back into his loner roots and break out. Maybe The Walking Dead will end with him finding out about Rick, news that would certainly spark his journey. This has all the makings of a miniseries, if you ask me. And the show was going to be tonally different from The Walking Dead. But given this news, we aren’t sure at this point what will happen next. We can only see how the remainder of season 11 plays out and wait for more news about this Walking Dead spinoff to emerge.
Tales of the Walking Dead
If you’re curious about meeting even more people in this universe, then this is the show for you. Tales of the Walking Dead is a six-episode anthology series set to premiere in Summer 2022. We don’t know anything about the stories or plots (which is rather rather cool) but the cast sparks a lot of intrigue. Parker Posey, Olivia Munn, Jesse T. Usher, and several others are stepping into this world as new characters. But there will also be some familiar faces there too. Hmmm.
A teaser does confirm that we will revisit at lease one character again: Alpha. She looks like a normal person so perhaps we will dive more into the early days of the Whisperers. A new character’s story could easily intertwine with hers.
Who else could show up in these episodes? Perhaps a missing person like Heath? These stories may also take place in another timeline. It could be the past (like with Alpha) or whatever future The Walking Dead ends on… or somewhere in between.
A Negan and Maggie Spinoff?!
My, how things change. If you told any fan at the beginning of season 11 that Maggie and Negan would have their own six episode adventure together, they would have thought you were a liar. But it is true. Isle of the Dead is coming in 2023 with Eli Journé, an executive producer and writer on The Walking Dead, as the showrunner.
This is very interesting for all the obvious reasons. There’s the ever-looming reality that Maggie hates Negan because, well, he did murder her husband. In brutal fashion. Right in front of her eyes. And Negan left recently because of his terse relationship with Maggie.
So that means he will come back and they are going to head off together to the Big Apple. The duo will hit New York City for some unknown reason. Maybe they are teaming up to find Rick. We know that Michonne left towards that area to look for Rick back in season 10. Could she make an appearance in this spinoff? Maybe. Or maybe it is a cat and mouse game where Maggie tracks Negan there for some reason. We shall see. Considering this show has a name and more general details, we can assume it will come out before the Daryl series.
Gaius Charles will also join Lauren Cohen and Jeffery Dean Morgan as a lead on the show. According to Deadline:
Charles will play Perlie Armstrong. He’s confident, ruthless, and unyielding in the pursuit of what he believes is justice, with the force of his will and his menace. Perlie enjoys his work and intersperses humor with the terror he incites. This is a family man, devoted to building a safe world for his wife and daughters. His journey unearths a loss he is haunted by. He has patience and resilience and walks rather than runs from his mistakes.
An interesting sounding character, to be sure.
So there you have it. A lot is happening in The Walking Dead universe and there will surely be more details about these spinoffs as well as new announcements. Please, for the love of god, let the Rick Grimes movies actually happen. The show that won hearts is bowing out but there’s plenty left to explore in the land of the dead.
Originally published on April 7, 2022.
