The Walking Dead: World Beyond Reviews Are In, Here's What Critics Think About AMC's Zombie Spinoff
This October, the Walking Dead universe will be growing larger than ever. Not only will the Season 10 finale finally make it to air, along with the delayed premiere of Fear the Walking Dead Season 6, but fans will at last get to experience the franchise's next chapter in the form of The Walking Dead: World Beyond. The new series, co-created by TWD mainstay Scott Gimple and showrunner Matt Negrete, shifts its focus to a new batch of characters in Omaha, Nebraska, only this time most of them are teenagers striking out after leaving their longtime safe haven for the first time.
Reviews for The Walking Dead: World Beyond are now in, and critics seem to be leaning more positive than negative about the new horror drama, though few critics put all their opinionated eggs into one basket. That said, ComicBook.com is arguably the most enthused about the AMC spinoff, calling it a more optimistic show than its predecessors, and saying:
In a similar (no doubt bloody) vein, Undead Walking had more good things to say than bad, and its critic was pumped to discover that World Beyond is not, in fact, just a Riverdale-ized take on The Walking Dead universe. In their words:
From there, things fall a bit more onto both sides of the critical line. For instance, Variety definitely offers up a positive take on The Walking Dead: World Beyond, but also gives anyone the benefit of the doubt for watching the show and wondering whether or not its existence is truly justified.
One of the biggest hooks of The Walking Dead: World Beyond going into its first season is the already established plot point that the new show's characters will be dealing with the CRM (Civil Republic Military), the helicopter group responsible for taking away Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes, Corey Hawkins' Heath and – by her own choice – Pollyanna McIntosh's Jadis. However, even though that plotline will almost necessarily lead into the upcoming Grimes-focused feature film(s), it wasn't necessarily enough to keep CNet's critic interested in the episodes made available for review.
While it's possibly, and even likely, that The Walking Dead: World Beyond will up the ante on the zombie-centric gore-shed in later episodes. But for the most part, reviews pointed out that the opening episodes' scenes with walkers (dubbed "empties" here) lack the kind of heightened stakes that make the living-and-dead dichotomy more distinct and captivating to watch. Here's how TV Guide's review put it:
As it always goes, reviews reflect the views of the relative few, and widespread audiences will no doubt have tons of their own opinions to bring to the table. Everyone will be able to start talking about it once The Walking Dead: World Beyond debuts on AMC on Sunday, October 6, at 10:00 p.m. ET, following the long-delayed Season 10 finale for The Walking Dead proper.
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Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper. Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.