The first spinoff in The Walking Dead Universe is set to follow in the footsteps of the flagship show, with AMC announcing during the Television Critics Association winter press tour that original “companion” show Fear the Walking Dead will come to an end with its upcoming eighth season.
The final season of Fear the Walking Dead will consist of twelve episodes, split across two six-episode blocks, the first of which will premiere in May with the second following before the end of the year. The cast for the final season includes Lennie James, Kim Dickens, Colman Domingo, Danay Garcia, Austin Amelio, Christine Evangelista, Karen David, Jenna Elfman and Rubén Blades, and the synopsis 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.
Although The Walking Dead and now Fear have come to an end, AMC is still hoping there’s plenty of life in the post-apocalyptic franchise with two new spinoffs – The Walking Dead: Dead City starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon starring Normal Reedus – both premiering this year, and the as-yet-untitled Rick and Michonne spinoff series following in 2024.
“It’s a truly exciting year for The Walking Dead Universe, as we conclude an epic journey on Fear the Walking Dead, which became one of the most successful shows in the history of cable television,” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios at AMC Networks (via Variety). “And now we are set to bring forth the next iteration of the franchise – two new and anticipated series featuring the beloved characters of Maggie, Negan and Daryl. Along with that we begin production on the next chapter in Rick and Michonne’s unforgettable love story, which we look forward to sharing next year. This next phase of our beloved Walking Dead franchise promises to engage and enthrall faithful viewers. Fans new and old will love seeing zombies walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, beneath the Eiffel Tower, inside the Louvre, and at dozens more exotic and iconic locations from around the country and world.”
“The Walking Dead Universe LIVES,” said TWDU chief content officer Scott M. Gimple. “To conclude Fear the Walking Dead, we’re thrilled to be bringing you one of its most vibrant, inventive, exciting seasons EVER, while breaking new ground with old favorites: Maggie and Negan in the madhouse of post-apocalyptic Manhattan with no one to depend on but each other…Daryl Dixon in France, a loner who cannot move through this new dangerous world alone, facing vicious enemies and never-seen-before threats of the undead. And Rick and Michonne, in a romantic saga of the dangerous road to each other, and the road they must find with each other, cornered by a new civilization and hordes of the dead. Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, showrunner Eli Jorné, Norman Reedus, showrunner David Zabel, Danai Gurira, and Andrew Lincoln are creating heart-wrenching, heart-pounding magic for the next phase of the TWDU!”
