The word “fatigue” has been applied to many big franchises in recent years, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but with several spin-offs in the last year, couldThe Walking Deadbe about to suffer the same fate? Not according to chief content officerScott M. Gimple, who believes that there is plenty the horror series can still offer.
The Walking Dead
Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, AMC’s The Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series, developed for television by Frank Darabont, follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead. The Walking Dead lasted for eleven seasons and spawned several spinoff shows, such as Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond.
The Walking Deadbrought its flagship show to a close in 2022 after 11 seasons, but that was far from the end of the story. Even thoughcreator Robert Kirkmanunexpectedly ended the comic book series in 2019 after 16 years, the on-screen adaptation has not followed his lead, with three spin-off shows airing across 2023/2024.Dead CityandDaryl Dixonhave already been renewed for a second season andThe Ones Who Liveis currently airing on AMC, but is it all too much? Talking to theLos Angeles Times, Gimple said:
“With these latest shows, it’s about taking these classic characters and putting them in new contexts. We’re being more experimental. We’re putting forward the basic story values that Robert established in the comic — larger-than-life characters next to everyday folks — in really big situations that have real emotion. It’s not simply zombies or having shows with a bunch of walkers. It’s a brand of zombie storytelling. It gives us a way to keep going.”
How TWD Spin-Offs Have Revived the Failing Series
The Walking Deadultimately hit its viewership peak between Season 5 and Season 7, when it pulled in up to 17million viewers. From then on, audiences dwindled as the zombie series began to turn into what many critics called a soap opera with added undead, and by the time the series came to an end in 2022, the numbers were closer to 2 million.
Despite this, spin-off shows featuring the most popular characters were already in production, withDead Citysending Negan and Maggie to New York,Daryl Dixonrelocating to France andThe Ones Who Livefinally bringing back Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira as Rick and Michonne Grimes respectively. It seems that this was a wise decision.
With strong viewing figures, and reviews to match,The Walking Deadhas risen from its own grave to shamble on across the wastes of an apocalyptic world once again. Although there is no way of telling how long this new wave will last, it looks like Gimple is fully expecting the franchise to go on for several more years at least.Dead Cityis currently filming its second season, andDaryl Dixon’s new episodes, under the heading of The Book of Carol, will air sooner than anyone expected this summer. While Gimple has remained silent over whether Rick and Michonne will be continuing their story beyond the current series, it would not surprise anyone if a renewal announcement comes very soon.
While this may seem like a lot ofWalking Deadcontent, the fresh environments and familiar characters have proved to be a winning combination, and have created enough of a buzz to sustain even more new additions to the franchise in the coming years.
