‘The Walking Dead’ Carol and Daryl Spinoff: What We Know

The Walking Dead may be ending, but that doesn’t mean it will mark the end of the TWD universe. After TWD concludes in late 2022 following an expanded 24-episode Season 11, Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) will embark on their own journey in a new TWD Carol and Daryl spinoff series. The series will join existing TWD spinoffs Fear The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond.

The spinoff show was first confirmed to be in the works in September 2020 when AMC made the shocking announcement that TWD would end with Season 11. Over the past decade, the series has been a hit for AMC, with The Walking Dead creator and chief content officer teasing “we have a lot of thrilling story left to tell on TWD.” At the time of the cancellation news, Gimple teased, “this end will be a beginning of more Walking Dead — 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. Evolution is upon us. The Walking Dead lives.”

The eleventh and final season of The Walking Dead is set to air in three 8-episode parts, with Part A episodes currently airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. Parts 11B and 11C are set to air sometime in 2022. With the end of the flagship series now on the horizon (a series finale date has not been announced), many fans are looking ahead to the highly anticipated Daryl and Carol spinoff and searching for any and all scraps of information on the show. Keep scrolling to read up on everything we know about the spinoff.

Title

At this time, a title for the spinoff has not been announced. In reporting on the series, the show has simply been referred to as “the Daryl and Carol spinoff.” Keeping in line with other iterations of the flagship series, it is almost guaranteed that the spinoff will have “The Walking Dead” somewhere in the title.

Premiere date

Along with the title, a premiere date for the series is also unknown. According to PopCulture’s sister site ComicBook, the spinoff is slated for a 2023 premiere, meaning it is set to debut about a year after TWD ends. However, AMC has not yet set an exact premiere date. It is possible the spinoff could fill the fall timeslot left vacant following the TWD series finale.

What is it about?

AMC has not released an official synopsis for the Daryl and Carol spinoff. Currently, Daryl and Carol remain the only two surviving characters from Season 1 – aside from Lennie James’ Morgan Jones, who now appeared on Fear The Walking Dead – and the series will continue their story after the curtains close on TWD. It is unclear if the show will pick up immediately after the TWD series finale or if it will be set in a different timeline, perhaps sometime after the Season 11 finale events. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in October 2020, Kang described the series as a “road show” that sees Daryl and Carol embarking “off on a different journey… They’re just in a different stage of their lives and it’s more of a road show, which I think will be really fun.”

It will offer a ‘fresh’ take on ‘TWD’

Although concrete details about the show remain unclear, both Kang and Gimple have offered a few teases about the spinoff, both alluding to a show that is at least a little different from the flagship series. Kang previously told Entertainment Weekly is “going to feel hopefully a little tonally fresh.” Gimple, meanwhile, told the Los Angeles Times that “it’s going to be very different from The Walking Dead, going to have a different tone.” Gimple added the spin-off would have “a different mission churning under it” and that there would be “characters all around Carol and Daryl.”

Familiar behind-the-scenes talent

Reedus and McBride won’t be the only familiar faces carried over onto the show. The spinoff is created by current and former TWD showrunners Gimple and Angela Kang. When the series was confirmed to be in the works, Kang said, “The Walking Dead flagship series has been my creative home for a decade and so it’s bittersweet to bring it to an end, but I could not be more excited to be working with Scott Gimple and AMC to develop a new series for Daryl and Carol. Working with Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride has been a highlight of my career and I’m thrilled that we get to keep telling stories together.”

What McBride said

In a statement after the Carol and Daryl spinoff was announced, actress McBride, who has starred as Carol since 2010, said she has “always enjoyed working so closely with Norman throughout these many seasons.” She said that through playing Carol and also being a fan of the series, she has “long been intrigued with ‘Daryl and Carol,’ and by what so early on between them, even then, felt somehow bound.”

“Their shared history is long, and each’s own personal fight to survive, even longer — the more obvious aspect of what has kept them close and loyal. But there is also a rather mysterious aspect to their fondness for one another that I enjoy, and their playfulness when the world permits,” she added. “I’m very curious! Angela has a way of shaking things up in great and unexpected ways. She’s like a kid playing with the dimmer switch! I’m very excited!”

What Reedus Said

Reedus, who like McBride has been stepping into his onscreen counterpart’s shoes since TWD‘s 2010 start, said he feels “incredibly honored to be a part of The Walking Dead.” He said the series “changed my life and career and everyone involved has truly been a family for me over the last decade” and teased, “there’s so much more story to tell and so much more to bring the best fans in the world.”

“Daryl’s relationship with Carol has always been my favorite relationship on the show (sorry Rick),” he added. “I love the way these characters interact and relate to each other on so many levels and can’t wait to see where their ride goes from here.”

It’s not the only ‘TWD’ spinoff in the works

The Daryl and Carol spinoff, however, is not the only series that will expand the TWD universe. AMC also ordered Tales of the Walking Dead, an anthology series “with individual episodes or arcs of episodes focused on new or existing characters, backstories or other stand-alone experiences.”