If over 250 episodes across the entire The Walking Dead universe isn’t enough for you, prepare for more. A lot more. As the main show concludes this weekend, AMC will continue to invest heavily in the franchise through a hefty slate of spinoffs, taking our survivors everywhere from New York City to Europe. Expect the series finale to set this stuff up!
There are several spinoff projects that are definitely on the way. Of course, Fear The Walking Dead will continue into season 8. Plus, there’s Dead City, which follows the unlikely duo of Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as they travel to New York City for some reason. Then there’s Daryl Dixon, where the title character (Norman Reedus) travels to France. Perhaps most exciting of all, there’s a series coming about Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira).
That’s one sure way to soften the blow of ending the biggest zombie show on TV for the last decade. As for the extended series finale, it’ll be mostly focused on bookending the show, but will also tease the storylines to come. “There’s a bit of setup,” showrunner Angela Kang told Entertainment Weekly. “But it’s more with the approach of we are closing this chapter.”
The Walking Dead boss warns it’s “possible that not everybody’s going to be satisfied” with the series finale
Unlike the end of Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead comics, which felt very final, the show’s ending will be a lot more open-ended. “Things get to a point where you’ll feel like an arc has ended for this show,” Kang said. “But we’re leaving a door open, which is actually also true to the way that the comics handled the end of its story, because it’s supposed to be the zombie story that never ends. And so a door closes, and then another door is left open, and then you take it with your imagination. So that’s kind of the vibe that we went for.”
"When the spinoffs pick up, it’s not going to be exactly where you think it’s going to pick up. So those are doing their own thing. They’re taking the ball and running down the field with it and going, ‘We’re starting here.’ So that’s kind of how we dealt with the wrangling between main show and spinoffs."
Trying to end a beloved show with an enormous cast is always going to be a poisoned chalice. Just look at Game of Thrones. No matter how they write it, there are going to be fans who don’t like it. Kang acknowledges this, saying “it’s possible that not everybody’s going to be satisfied” with the conclusions for certain characters.
Is there a tag scene at the end of The Walking Dead series finale?
Everyone loves a good tag scene. Imagine watching through the credits of The Walking Dead series finale and seeing Rick Grimes waking up in a Civic Republic hospital, for instance. The hype would be insane!
When asked about whether the finale contains a tag scene, Kang played it coy. “I can’t give that away. You don’t want to know anyway.”
The season finale of The Walking Dead airs on Sunday, November 20 on AMC and AMC+. They’re making a big deal out of this one. Talking Dead’s Chris Hardwick will host “Red Carpet Live,” a half-hour pre-show before the finale airs. As always, it’ll be followed by a special finale of Talking Dead. The fact that the show is ending is finally beginning to sink in!