It's the end of an era at AMC, or at least the end of one piece of an ever-expanding era, as The Walking Dead's end date as been confirmed. Following the Season 10 extension that will follow-up on the yet-to-air finale, the show will wrap up its epic post-apocalyptic tale by giving fans a super-sized Season 11. But wait, there's more, because another huge spinoff is also going into development that will please Daryl and Carol's most hardcore fans.
The Walking Dead is currently set to deliver an eleventh season that spans across two years, and will last for 24 episodes. Assuming production schedules are allowed to go forward without any issues, The Walking Dead Season 11 will be filming during the first half of 2021 and is aiming for the traditional October release date. (The remaining six Season 10 episodes will possibly be airing during that same time window). The second half of Season 11 will presumably then be held until the Fall TV cycle in late 2022. So even though we already know the show is ending, it's technically not going away for quite a while.
After The Walking Dead's flagship run is over, the franchise will then be expanding once more, but this time with characters that fans are already fully familiar with, as opposed to Fear the Walking Dead and the upcoming World Beyond. AMC has already given the greenlight to a spinoff series that will focus entirely on Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon and Melissa McBride's Carol Peletier. That project will be headed up by current TWD showrunner Angela Kang, with chief content officer Scott Gimple also playing a big role.
Now, does that mean that fans are finally going to see Daryl and Carol in a more romantic sense? Not necessarily, since this show's various creative teams have been pretty strict about not bringing those characters too close together for one reason or another. We know they'll likely maintain their strong emotional bonds, even if those bonds aren't the fuzzy, heart-shaped kind.
Check out the statement from showrunner Angela Kang below.
I look forward to digging in with our brilliant writers, producers, directors, cast and crew to bring this epic final chapter of Robert Kirkman’s story to life for our fans over the next two years. The Walking Dead flagship series has been my creative home for a decade and so it’s bittersweet to bring it to an end, but I could not be more excited to be working with Scott Gimple and AMC to develop a new series for Daryl and Carol. Working with Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride has been a highlight of my career and I’m thrilled that we get to keep telling stories together.
If that all wasn't enough, there is actually another spinoff series in development, as AMC also announced it will be working with Scott Gimple on a new Walking Dead episodic anthology series that would devote installments to past and current characters, delving into specific backstory moments and filling in more blanks that fans hadn't gotten to see from the seasons that have already aired. I'm hoping this is where the Here's Negan backstory can come into play for Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
It's unclear how any of this news will affect the still-happening Rick Grimes movie(s) with Andrew Lincoln, but if these timelines are meant to coincide with each other at some point, we might be waiting another two years for Rick's return to make it to theaters. Assuming, of course, that 2020 doesn't also have an actual zombie apocalypse waiting around the corner.
As of this moment, there are now 31 episodes left of The Walking Dead, so start your countdowns and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates as they become available. Season 10's finale is set to air on AMC on Sunday, October 4, followed by the premiere of The Walking Dead: World Beyond. And head to our Fall TV 2020 premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are on the way.
