The Walking Dead Could Look at Daryl’s Love Life Very Soon

Daryl Dixon’s (Norman Reedus) ten-year single streak might soon be coming to an end on The Walking Dead. With just 30 episodes until the series finale, the zombie drama will soon explore “other dimensions” of the show’s long-unattached leading man, who has gone ten seasons without a clear romantic interest. The Walking Dead has flirted with potential couplings — Daryl and best friend Carol (Melissa McBride), Daryl and ill-fated farmgirl Beth (Emily Kinney), and Daryl and close companion Connie (Lauren Ridloff) — but fan calls about wished-for “Caryl” or “Donnie” romances have, so far, gone unanswered. That might soon change as the show brings out a never-before-seen side of Daryl:

“Without going too deep into it, I would say Daryl and Carol have one of the most intimate relationships that we’ve seen on the show. I’ll just say that,” series executive producer and chief content officer Scott Gimple told Looper when asked about a potential Daryl-Carol romance. “And then as far as Daryl and love, again, you know me, I’m not about spoilers.”

Gimple continued, “But I will say that we will be looking at other dimensions of Daryl’s character that we’ve never seen before on the show coming up very soon. And it’s going to be… I can’t wait to see those other dimensions of Daryl Dixon.”

Asked if the “sex-deprived” Daryl might find love or participate in a physical relationship, Gimple laughed off the question: “I love how you make that a binary sort of question there.”

In March, Reedus told Peter Travers that he’s “heard some rumors” that The Walking Dead will address Daryl’s sex life (or lack thereof). He previously admitted to The IMDb Show that he wants Daryl’s first love scene to be “super awkward,” adding of a potential partner, “I think if he’s gonna find it, he’s gonna stick with it.”

If or when a Daryl romance happens, and whoever it may be with, Reedus predicts it’s “gonna be a big deal.”

“I’m glad that we have played him the way we’ve played him. I think if we would have had some hot steamy barn sex somewhere, it would be over and done, it wouldn’t be a thing,” he told TV Line in July 2018. “I don’t think he’s that type of a guy. I think he’s the type of guy that when he does it, he’ll be in love. Like he will fall in love. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Everything he means he says, when he cares about someone, he cares about them. And I think playing it in that direction is better than having an episode or a scene in one thing. It means more to him. He’s sensitive.”

Whatever happens on The Walking Dead, Daryl and Carol will be hitting the road together in a spinoff sequel series created by Gimple and showrunner Angela Kang. Gimple has hinted other surviving Walking Dead characters might join them on their journey out west. The untitled spinoff will premiere on AMC in 2023.

Follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter for all things TWD. The Walking Dead returns with new episodes early 2021 on AMC.