Between Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: Dead City, here’s everything to know about the future of the franchiseg

PHOTO: LAUREN “LO” SMITH/AMC, PETER KRAMER/AMC, STEVE SWISHER/AMC, CURTIS BONDS BAKER/AMC

The Walking Dead came to a close on Nov. 20, 2022, but its legacy lives on with its many spin-off series.

Fear the Walking Dead was the first spin-off to be released in 2015 and The Walking Dead universe continues to expand even further with new AMC-developed titles expected to release in 2023.

“It’s been ten years ‘gone bye;’ what lies ahead are two more to come and stories and stories to tell beyond that,” said chief content officer Scott M. Gimple in a statement.

“We have a lot of thrilling [stories] left to tell on TWD, and then, this end will be a beginning of more Walking Dead,” he added. “Brand new stories and characters, familiar faces and places, new voices, and new mythologies. This will be a grand finale that will lead to new premieres.”

Here’s everything to know about every released and upcoming Walking Dead spin-off.

Fear the Walking Dead

LAUREN “LO” SMITH/AMC

Fear the Walking Dead was the first spin-off series to be released. It premiered in 2015 and was renewed for an eighth season in 2021. Two years later, Variety confirmed that the upcoming season would be the show’s last.

Its first three seasons serve as a prequel to its parent show, chronicling the lives of a blended family as they experience the start of a zombie apocalypse. Meanwhile, TWD begins mid-apocalypse. Another main difference between the two series is that Fear the Walking Dead takes place in Los Angeles, California, while TWD is set in Atlanta, Georgia.

Furthermore, the plot focuses on the characters’ — wait for it — fear as they deal with the struggles of being human amid the onset of zombies. Their normal lives quickly take a turn as an increasing amount people around them become stricken by the flesh-eating plague.

The cast varies throughout its eight seasons because, in typical Walking Dead fashion, characters get killed off. Alycia Debnam Carey as Alicia Clark, Cliff Curtis as Travis Manawa, Frank Dillane as Nick Clark and Kim Dickens as Madison Clark are among the main cast with recurring appearances. Others include Jenna Elfman as June Dorie, Colman Domingo as Victor Strand and Mo Collins as Sarah Rabinowitz.

Season 4 starts to see some overlap of characters that were featured in TWD, such as Lennie James’ Morgan Jones and Negan’s former right-hand man, Dwight, played by Austin Amelio, in season 5.

The eighth season of Fear the Walking Dead will pick up where season 7 left off. An official description, per Variety, reads: “Morgan, Madison and the others they brought to the island are living under PADRE’s cynical rule. With our characters demoralized and dejected, the task of reigniting belief in a better world rests with the person Morgan and Madison set out to rescue in the first place — Morgan’s daughter, Mo.”

Speaking of spin-offs, Fear the Walking Dead has a few of its own! The show has had a few web-based spin-offs on AMC’s official website, including Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462, Fear the Walking Dead: Passage, and The Althea Tapes.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond

STEVE SWISHER/AMC

The Walking Dead: World Beyond was the second spin-off of TWD, with the first episode premiering on AMC in 2020 and wrapping in December 2021 after two seasons.

Set in Nebraska ten years after the zombie apocalypse, the series chronicles the lives of teenagers who are the first generation to come of age in a post-apocalyptic era. The location is a subtle nod to TWD‘s season 2 episode titled “Nebraska.” In addition, more light is shed on the Civic Republic Military introduced in the original series.

The World Beyond plot places its aim on the next generation of survivors, characters who were most likely too young to recount the pre-plague world. Aliyah Royale as Iris, Alexa Mansour as Hope, Hal Cumpston as Silas and Nicolas Cantu as Elton play the four main characters.

Other cast members include Nico Tortorella as Felix, Julia Ormond as Elizabeth Kublek, Annet Mahendru as Huck and Joe Holt as Leo. Season 2 also sees some crossover characters from TWD such as Jeff Kober as an uncredited voice in season 1 and Pollyanna McIntosh as Jadis Stokes in season 2 of TWD: World Beyond.

Tales of the Walking Dead

CURTIS BONDS BAKER/AMC

Tales of the Walking Dead was the third spin-off of the original series and premiered on AMC in August 2022.

The spin-off is an anthology that highlights new and returning characters from the TWD franchise. Unlike other spin-offs with cohesive storylines throughout the seasons, Tales of the Walking Dead tells the individual stories of new characters in each episode — which then tie into the larger story within the TWD universe.

Each episode takes place in a different location and is titled after the character it highlights. Furthermore, the timeline spans from pre-apocalyptic times to several years beyond the original show’s timeline.

The first episode stars Terry Crews as Joe and Olivia Munn as Evie, episode 2 stars Parker Posey as Blair and Jillian Bell as Gina, episode 3 stars Samantha Morton as Dee (a.k.a. TWD villain Alpha), episode 4 stars Anthony Edwards as Dr. Everett and Poppy Liu as Amy, episode 5 stars Julie Carmen as La Doña Alma.

There’s been no confirmation about whether Tales of the Walking Dead has been renewed for a season 2 since its sixth and final episode of season 1 aired on Sept. 18.

The Walking Dead: Dead City

PETER KRAMER/AMC

The Walking Dead: Dead City is an upcoming spin-off of TWD and will mark the show’s fourth spin-off overall. It was originally titled Isle of the Dead in March, but AMC changed its name to Dead City in August.

As for its plot, it will serve as a direct sequel to TWD‘s original series. The new show, which stars Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, is set to follow their Walking Dead characters, Maggie and Negan, in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan.

“The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror,” read a logline for the series. During an interview with Deadline, Morgan hinted that Dead City is going to take place “a couple of years after the Walking Dead finale.”

“These characters are going to have a hard time functioning around each other, which is why I wanted to do Dead City so much by the way,” he continues. “I just thought it was fascinating that you got two characters that kind of hate each other, having to find a way to work together.”

The six-episode series is set to debut in June 2023 on AMC+ and AMC, reported Variety, with Walking Dead writer and co-executive producer Eli Jorné signed on as showrunner and executive producer. An official premiere date will be announced at a later time.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

JACE DOWNS/AMC

In September 2020, AMC announced that another spin-off was in the works, centering on Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon and Melissa McBride’s Carol Peletier with TWD showrunner Angela Kang and chief content officer Scott M. Gimple as creators.

However, in April this year, AMC confirmed that McBride won’t be starring on the upcoming spin-off — set and filmed in France and expected to premiere in 2023 — after all.

“Melissa McBride has given life to one of the most interesting, real, human and popular characters in The Walking Dead Universe,” an AMC spokesperson said while announcing the news of her departure. “Relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time.”

Entertainment Weekly reported that the spin-off is now set to focus on Reedus’ character completely. “We know fans will be disappointed by this news, but The Walking Dead Universe continues to grow and expand in interesting ways and we very much hope to see Carol again in the near future,” the spokesperson added.

Harry Potter alum Clémence Poésy and Chernobyl’s Adam Nagaitis have since joined the cast.

Deadline confirmed that The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is set to premiere in late 2023, though an exact date has yet to be announced.

An untitled Rick and Michonne series

JACKSON LEE DAVIS/AMC

TWD‘s Michonne and Rick Grimes — played by Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln, respectively — have their own spin-off show in the works. The two stars confirmed the news at San Diego Comic-Con in 2022.

AMC originally announced a trilogy movie to be made in 2018. (The network even released a teaser trailer for the film at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019!) Now, the spin-off is slated as a series that “will begin with six episodes,” per a press release.

According to Deadline, the spin-off will focus on the “epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world.” The challenges that come from their long separation will be explored in, and among, those of the ever-present threat of zombie attacks.

Lincoln’s character is a sheriff who, last we saw, was presumed dead by the group of survivors he led for the show’s first nine seasons. Viewers will remember he is actually alive, shown escaping in a helicopter.

Michonne was introduced in season 3, as a loner-type with a katana and zombies as pets. Her character’s relationship with Rick became a central part of the story in later seasons. The last time fans saw Michonne was when she was off to find Rick.

The Walking Dead Universe’s Chief Content Officer Scott M. Gimple will serve as showrunner for the series, with Lincoln and Gurira as executive producers. Gurira is also credited as a writer on the series.

Variety confirmed that production on the untitled series will begin later this year and debut in 2024.