The Walking Dead’s Daryl and Carol Discover a New Frontier in Sequel Series

The next chapter of The Walking Dead takes battle-scarred survivors Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) into a different corner of the zombie apocalypse, where the best friends will discover a “new frontier of story and purpose.” Co-created by Scott Gimple and showrunner Angela Kang, the untitled Walking Dead spinoff continues the story of the flagship series coming to an end in 2022. Daryl and Carol’s stripped-down sequel series, which has received the official green light at AMC, is speculated to see the pair hit the road and head west to New Mexico — a direction hinted at in the tenth season of The Walking Dead.

“The next chapter with Daryl and Carol will be of a great deal about discovery,” reads a statement from Gimple aired on the Walking Dead Universe Preview Special. “A new world, a new tone, a new frontier of story and purpose — all while carrying the lessons learned from the people who have made up their apocalypse family, their hard-won victories, and painful losses.”

In the new series due out in 2023, the fan-favorite characters “might finally be comfortable enough in their own skins, and I don’t mean in the Alpha kind of way,” the statement continues, referring to Carol’s slain arch-enemy and leader of the Whisperers (Samantha Morton).

“Rest assured, we will be throwing a hell of a lot at them to make them uncomfortable,” Gimple writes. “But there is an incredible 30 episodes ahead of heroism and horror that completely re-contextualize the world of the Walking Dead and set the stage for all that’s to come. With Daryl, Carol, and the stories alongside theirs — hopefully with a lot of the faces you’re seeing on the screen right now. There’s a universal story ahead. The Walking Dead lives.”

While the world of The Walking Dead lives on, the mothership series will conclude with an expanded 24-episode final season finishing in 2022. Daryl and Carol will return in Season 11 before riding off together towards their new adventure, possibly with some Walking Dead friends in tow.

“I look forward to digging in with our brilliant writers, producers, directors, cast and crew to bring this epic final chapter of Robert Kirkman’s story to life for our fans over the next two years,” Kang said in a statement announcing the spinoff. “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.”

The Walking Dead Season 10 finale, “A Certain Doom,” premieres Sunday, October 4 on AMC, followed by the series premiere of new spinoff The Walking Dead: World Beyond. For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.