The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Spinoff Sets Release Window

01/12/2023 09:00 pm EST

AMC Networks has set a premiere timeline for three seasons of Walking Dead spin-offs releasing in 2023, including The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. During its day at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour, the cable channel announced the upcoming eighth season of Fear the Walking Dead, debuting in May, would be its last. AMC also revealed timelines for three new shows starring characters from the now-ended flagship series: duos Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), and the solo Daryl (Norman Reedus). 

The Walking Dead: Dead City, about Maggie and Negan's tumultuous trip into post-apocalyptic New York City, has shifted from April to June 2023, following the first half of Fear's two-part, 12-episode final season in May. AMC also confirmed Daryl Dixon, which began filming in October in France, is slated to premiere later this year. An official debut date will be announced later. 

The six-episode first season of Reedus' Walking Dead spin-off could arrive as early as August — a month that has seen the debut of seasons of Fear and Tales of the Walking Dead — or as late as October, traditionally reserved for season premieres of The Walking Dead. Fall 2023 is more open now that the Rick & Michonne series reuniting Lincoln and Gurira has been pushed back to 2024.

After riding out west to explore the "frontier" in the November series finale of The Walking Dead, Reedus' solo series follows Daryl as he "wakes up and finds himself somewhere on the European continent and tries to piece together what happened," revealed AMC president Dan McDermott. "How did he get here? How's he going to get home?" 

Originally developed as the Daryl & Carol spin-off co-starring Reedus and Melissa McBride, the Europe-set Daryl Dixon is showran by ER and Mercy Street showrunner David Zabel. Scott M. Gimple and Angela Kang, who developed the original road trip version of Daryl & Carol, serve as executive producers alongside veteran Walking Dead director Greg Nicotero.

"I don't want to say too much. I just think that it really sort of embraces a Stranger In a Strange Land kind of scenario, where we're exploring post-apocalyptic Europe through the eyes of Daryl Dixon," Nicotero exclusively told ComicBook. Featuring a cast that includes TWD Universe newcomers Clémence Poésy and Adam Nagaitis, the Reedus-led spin-off "really just is a different animal."

"And I even was sort of surprised, myself, standing on set and going, 'I've been on Walking Dead for 12 years and here we are,'" Nicotero added of the France-shot Daryl Dixon. "But it feels fresh and it feels new. And David Zabel, our showrunner, has been an absolute joy to collaborate with. And it's been really fun."

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premieres later in 2023 on AMC and AMC+. Stay tuned to ComicBook/TWD and follow @NewsOfTheDead for more TWD Universe coverage.

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