“The Walking Dead” franchise has taken over the world since 2010. The comic books caught AMC Studio’s attention with their complex characters and apocalyptic settings. AMC’s “The Walking Dead” TV show premiered Halloween night of 2010. The development and popularity of the show made the stories from the comic books more accessible to an audience beyond comic book enthusiasts. Horror-loving teens and adults enjoy this gore-filled series. From the “Walking Dead” explosion, there was an abundance of walker-filled content. They had comics, TV shows, films, novels, video games and various other media. Also, the Walker Stalker Conventions were born, as well as TellTale Games signing on to do a four episode video game series following main characters Lee and Clementine. The most recent video game is a VR experience titled “The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners.” “The Walking Dead” has truly made a cultural impact beyond what we would’ve ever imagined.
“The Walking Dead”’s original medium is a long-lasting comic book series created by Robert Kirkland and Charlie Adlard. The conclusion of the comic book was unexpectedly unveiled in issue #193 of The Walking Dead on July 3, 2019. This came as a surprise to many because covers had been created for the following comics, but Issue #193 had no cliffhanger, just a sudden conclusive scene of adult Carl (no spoilers here, folks).
On Sept. 9, 2020, AMC announced that “The Walking Dead” would conclude after its 11th season. Although there was much excitement for Season 12, it makes sense that the show is concluding along with the comic book. The show has always followed the larger story arcs of the comics to a tee.The show strayed away in terms of character deaths and side stories, but the group always followed the same arcs: Atlanta, Hershall’s Farm, the Prison, Alexandria, Negan, Kingdom/Hilltop and, finally, the CommonWealth. The CommonWealth was introduced in the TV show in Season 10. This alerted many of TWD’s die-hard fans that the end could be near. This also brought excitement to many fans because the comics have always been a roadmap for structure. As the story was creeping toward the final comic, fans were elated to see what they’d do next. So, with some disappointment, we say farewell to AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”
What’s next? So much more. We knew that Scott Gimble, Robert Kirkland and Angela Kang wouldn’t stop there. This is by no means the end, truly, but the beginning of a massive expansion for “The Walking Dead” franchise. Currently, there are two TWD spin-off shows: “Fear the Walking Dead” and “The Walking Dead: World Beyond.” After the conclusion of Season 11, two new spin-offs will premiere. One will star two of our favorite best friends from the OG TWD cast: Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride). The other is called “Tales of the Walking Dead,” which is an anthology series following new and pre-existing characters in smaller one-episode story arcs.
Season 10 of TWD was scheduled to conclude this year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming was postponed. We can still expect the season 10 finale on Oct. 4. There will be six bonus episodes beyond this so-called finale. This brings the episode count of Season 10 to 22 episodes, making season 10 of TWD the longest season thus far.
This is what we know about Season 11 so far. It will be a 24-episode season. 12 of the episodes will air in 2021 and 12 will follow in 2022. Setting up AMC’s The Walking Dead to conclude in 2022. The first spin-off with Daryl and Carol will premiere in 2023.
Overall, it is bittersweet to see the end of such a great show, though this truly isn’t the end. There is so much in store for the franchise. For those taking note at home, we still have 30 episodes of TWD Original Series content left. Although the announcement happened, the Walking Dead will easily live on for another decade.
