The Walking Dead showrunner teases “big” and “scope-y” final season

Believe it or not, The Walking Dead is finally coming to an end after over a decade on our televisions…sort of, as various spinoff projects will stretch the zombie franchise out for many more years. But for the main show, the eleventh and final season kicks off on August 22, and will last for an extended 24-episode run before ending for good sometime in 2022. With the end in sight, showrunner Angela Kang laid out what expect from the final season! “When we start [the final season], we’re rockin’ and rollin,’” she told TV Line. “We’re back to being big and scope-y.”

This should come as a relief to those who found themselves disappointed with the six bonus episode of season 10, which were smaller and more character-centric. Episode 21, “Diverged,” literally spent most of the duration watching Carol (Melissa McBride) chase a rat around her home and is now the lowest-rated episode in the show’s history. That said, this stretch also gave us the amazing “Here’s Negan,” so we can’t complain too much.

It’s clear where the big scope will come from. In like “Splinter,” we’ve glimpsed the enormous and advanced community called the Commonwealth. With an entire military — dressed in armor oddly reminiscent of Stormtroopers — they look extremely formidable. Many of the short teasers for the final season are filled with Commonwealth easter eggs that fans of the comic will appreciate… the cake, right?

The Walking Dead Season 11 will explore different genres

As well as being more grandiose, Kang also says that season 11 will move through different tones. “There’s going to be a feeling that things are just ripping along for the first block,” she said. “Then we’re going for some different tonal things than we’re used to on the show, which hopefully will be fun for the audience.”

It sounds like the final season will be fresh and different. Kang also said we can expect it to explore genres beyond horror, which is where The Walking Dead got its start. “I think it’s just that mix,” she explained. “And as we meet more than one kind of new community, every story will have its own vibe. So some of them may go into types of genres that haven’t been really explored on the show before.”

Might we see The Walking Dead go full comedy? Probably not, although AMC chief content officer Scott M. Gimple previously revealed that a “straight comedy” was in development.

With these adjustments to scope, tone, and genre, Kang hopes the show will explore some entirely new territory. “My hope is that it will feel like we’re still finding things that are new, even in the final season.”

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