While we’ve yet to see how everything plays out on screen, filming has officially finished on The Walking Dead. That’s 11 seasons of zombie-killing action, come to an end.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, star Lauren Cohan (Maggie) said that the fact that it was over didn’t really hit at the time that production stopped. Cohan is used to being away from the show and is already preparing to appear in a spinoff series, Isle of the Dead. “It is such a combination of feelings,” she said. “Right now, it doesn’t feel like we’re finished. It just sort of feels like we’re on summer break or we’re on hiatus. I’ll probably know better in three months. But then, in three months, I’ll be doing the other one. So I don’t know if I’ll ever know.”
While the main series may be done, there are lots of spinoffs on the way. Cohan will be joining Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) on Isle of the Dead, which is set in New York City. Norman Reedus (Daryl) and Melissa McBride (Carol) are getting their own show, there’s the anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead, plus the Rick Grimes movies that may or may not still be coming.
However, with Isle of the Dead filming in New York, Cohan and company will be moving away from Georgia, which has long been the home base for the original show. That was what finally made the end of The Walking Dead feel real. “It definitely felt final during our last episode,” Cohan said, “just because I won’t see those people in that configuration together in Georgia.”
"It’s amazing the way even just looking at a certain grouping of trees can actually conjure all this emotion. You just think of how many times you’ve been there or the conversations you’ve had sitting on the porch of Barrington house at the Hilltop. It’s the little things. It’s just the day-to-day, mundane, sweet little things that are actually what I will miss. But it’s the people that you’ll miss the most that you’ll stay in touch with, too."
Having been in the show since season 2 in 2011, Cohan has spent over 10 years playing Maggie. The cast and crew became a close-knit family during that time, and Cohan insisted that everyone stay in touch:
"On the last day we were leaving, I was with Ross [Marquand] and Seth [Gilliam]. And I was like, ‘Okay guys, let’s just make a pact. You never need to explain. If you want to just call for no reason, just do it. Don’t question it. Just pick up the phone and call, and we will pick up the phone to each other.’ It’s that weird thing of we’ve been through this together in a way nobody can relate to but us, and it feels good. Here’s hoping the last eight episodes feel good to viewers as well."
The final eight episodes of The Walking Dead, including the series finale, will air later this year on AMC. Isle of the Dead will premiere in 2023.
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