‘The Walking Dead: Rick And Michonne’ To Air In 2024
by Erik Amaya
Although The Walking Dead wrapped up its run last year, its universe continues on AMC.
As announced at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, the long-promised continuation of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne’s (Danai Gurira) story — The Walking Dead: Rick and Michonne — will air in 2024. The program brings the two Walking Dead stars back, answering long standing questions about where they went. It joins The Walking Dead: Dead City and The Walking Dead: Darryl Dixon as the three new shows continuing to breath life into the Walking Dead world. Additionally, the current Walking Dead program, Fear the Walking Dead, will return for an eighth and final season.
During the session focused on Dead City, Walking Dead chief content officer Scott M. Gimple said each show is designed in a specific way. “We start each one of them with the assumption that we want to honor the fans, but we don’t want to keep anyone out. If you know the history, it’s a rich experience. If you don’t, you’ll find out that history,” he explained.
Dead City showrunner Eli Jorné added, “You do not need to have watched The Walking Dead [to enjoy Dead City]. You don’t have to bring 11 or 12 years of viewership to connect to the show.”
“It’ll help,” quipped star Jeffrey Dean Morgan. He returns as Negan, who joins Maggie (Lauren Cohan) as they trek to Manhattan to find her son, Herschel.
The premise leads to a very different story in the Walking Dead world. “One of the biggest things is structural,” Gimple explained. “The Walking Dead was an ensemble show. It was a cast of thousands. We had more than twenty series regulars by the end. This series is very focused on Negan and Maggie and few more characters we’re bringing in.” Beyond diving more deeply into a small set of characters, the urban environment also provides a new setting to explore.
“In this new terrain, it’s just unwelcoming,” Cohan said.
Jorné added, “That show never lived in an urban environment. A lot of new things can happen for the walkers and these human beings who have been in the woods for a long time.”
The Walking Dead: Dead City debuts in June.
