ABC is currently home to one of TV's most breezily enjoyable series in the action caper Whiskey Cavalier, which was the most watched scripted show on network TV this past Wednesday night. But one of its stars, Lauren Cohan, had to leave behind The Walking Dead in order to make the new show work. After several months of relative silence concerning a possible return, Cohan recently touched upon the topic, saying this when asked if she misses the AMC drama:
I do, but I’m not done. I’m not done. . . . We’re hoping we go back. It’s just trying to live in the unknowing...the unknown.
Three cheers for keeping fan hopes alive! Granted, Lauren Cohan's generally positive answer to Busy Phillips on Busy Tonight didn't cement any return dates or guarantee much of anything else, but at least the possibility of Maggie's return hasn't been shoved in the back of a dust-filled filing cabinet somewhere.
Few would likely assume that all parties would just forget about trying to bring Maggie back into The Walking Dead's post-apocalypse, but few likely understand how truly complicated it is to flip between two different TV shows on different networks produced by different studios. For instance, The Walking Dead films its 16-episode seasons in Georgia at very specific points of the year, while Whiskey Cavalier's production is set in Prague and other points in Europe. Not exactly a hop, skip and a jump away.
Plus, just look at what happened to Heath after actor Corey Hawkins landed the spinoff 24: Legacy. That show only lasted one season, but Hawkins still hasn't returned to The Walking Dead, despite Scott Gimple and others talking about how there's still room for Heath in the story, and that they'd welcome his return. Heath isn't as important of a character as Maggie, true, but the principle remains the same.
It probably also doesn't help that part of Lauren Cohan's Walking Dead exit was tied to contract renewal negotiations failing to go her way following Season 8. Though the actress remains ever-cordial about loving the cast and crew, and missing the show in general, there may still be some lingering resentment clouding the matter.
All that said, Lauren Cohan is technically meant to return to The Walking Dead in some capacity in the future, but it's not at all clear how that would go down. Since Maggie's exit in the first half of Season 9, the zombie drama has gone through a giant time jump in which the character had a strife-filled situation with Michonne's Alexandria crew, and the character ended up taking her son Herschel and fleeing to wherever Jayne Atkinson's Georgie lives.
Maggie could show up in flashbacks, so fans could see what went down between her and Michonne. Or she could show back up in the future to check on everyone at Hilltop. (She'd likely mourn Jesus and whoever else died in the interim.) She and Herschel are going to miss the big Walking Dead fair, but that's probably a good thing, considering what will likely happen there.
For now, Whiskey Cavalier is doing quite well with viewers, critics and the ratings, so don't expect it to be making a quick escape from ABC's lineup in the near future. Catch it airing every Wednesday night at 10:00 p.m. ET.
