The Walking Dead Final Season Begins Filming

Filming is underway on the eleventh and final season of The Walking Dead. Production on Season 11 was to begin last spring before the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic forced an industry-wide shutdown, impacting both The Walking Dead and spin-off Fear the Walking Dead. After an announced three or four-week pause, the zombie drama’s Georgia set remained shuttered another seven months before cameras rolled in October on the extended Season 10’s six new bonus episodes designed for safe filming amid the pandemic. Weeks after wrapping a six-week shoot on Season 10C, the pandemic-proofed set of The Walking Dead is coming back to life for the show’s 24-episode final season.

“Kudos to our crew and cast (asskickers, the lot of ’em!) on the long-awaited start of filming for S11,” writer-producer Kevin Deiboldt tweeted on Monday. “A full (effed up) year in the works, we truly hope it’s worth the wait.”

AMC Networks and Walking Dead chief content officer Scott Gimple announced the final season in September while revealing showrunner Angela Kang will head an untitled spin-off series starring Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride).

“It’s been ten years gone bye; what lies ahead are two more to come and stories and stories to tell beyond that,” Gimple said in a statement. “What’s clear is that this show has been about the living, made by a passionate cast, team of writer/producers, producers, and crew, bringing to life the vision put forth by Robert Kirkman in his brilliant comic — and supported by the best fans in the world.”

Gimple continued, “We have a lot of thrilling story left to tell on TWD, and then, 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.”

Now on the road to the Commonwealth — the endgame for Kirkman’s comic book brought to an end after 193 issues in July 2019 — The Walking Dead tells six new stories in the aftermath of the Whisperer War before Season 11 premieres later this year.

In these six new episodes, we find our survivors trying to pick themselves up by their bootstraps following the destruction the Whisperers left in their wake. The years of struggle weigh upon them as past traumas surface, exposing their more vulnerable sides. As they question the state of humanity, the state of their collective community, and the states of their minds, will they find the inner strength to persevere with their lives, friendships, and group intact?

The six-episode Season 10C premieres Sunday, February 28 on AMC, and streams one-week early on AMC+. Follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter for all things TWD.