Fear the Walking Dead will end this year with season 8

Last year, AMC concluded their long-running zombie series The Walking Dead after 11 seasons on air. Now, per Variety, they’ve revealed that spinoff show Fear the Walking Dead will end this year with season 8.

The final 12 episodes of Fear the Walking Dead will roll out in two chunks of six. The first set of episodes will premiere on May 14. The final six will air later in the year.

“Morgan, Madison and the others they brought to the island are living under PADRE’s cynical rule,” reads the official description. ”With our characters demoralized and dejected, the task of reigniting belief in a better world rests with the person Morgan and Madison set out to rescue in the first place — Morgan’s daughter, Mo.”

Release dates for The Walking Dead spinoffs: Dead City, Daryl Dixon, and the Rick and Michonne show

If seems like AMC is winding down all things The Walking Dead…but also, very much no. This year will see the debut of two new spinoff series, with a third on the way. As AMC executive Dan McDermott put it:

"It’s a truly exciting year for The Walking Dead Universe, as we conclude an epic journey on ‘Fear the Walking Dead,’ which became one of the most successful shows in the history of cable television. And now we are set to bring forth the next iteration of the franchise – two new and anticipated series featuring the beloved characters of Maggie, Negan and Daryl. Along with that we begin production on the next chapter in Rick and Michonne’s unforgettable love story, which we look forward to sharing next year. This next phase of our beloved ‘Walking Dead’ franchise promises to engage and enthrall faithful viewers. Fans new and old will love seeing zombies walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, beneath the Eiffel Tower, inside the Louvre, and at dozens more exotic and iconic locations from around the country and world."

Let’s break down when those shows will actually air:

• The Walking Dead: Dead City, aka the one where Maggie and Negan go New York City: June 2023
• Daryl Dixon, aka the one where Daryl goes to France: Sometime after June 2023
• A new miniseries about Rick and Michonne: 2024

Is this the beginning of a rebirth of The Walking Dead franchise, or are we witnesses the death throes? Stay tuned.

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h/t Variety