The Walking Dead seen on FOX cancelled, will end with an extended season 11 in 2022 as more spinoffs are planned.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Walking Dead on FOX (DStv 125  /StarSat 131) has been cancelled after 11 seasons with the AMC-produced zombie drama series that will end with an extended season.

The Walking Dead will end with an 11th season that will play out over an extended 24-episode season, with 12 episodes set to be broadcast in 2021, and the final 12 episodes in 2022.

The 11th season of The Walking Dead was supposed to broadcast this year but was delayed because of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic that shut down film and television production globally.

Besides the end of The Walking Dead, AMC will also produce another two Walking Dead spinoff series - one revolving around Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) that will debut in 2023; as well as an anthology zombie-series currently entitled Tales of The Walking Dead, bringing the number of new spinoffs to 4 series.

Meanwhile the 10th season of The Walking Dead will start on 4 October, followed by 6 bonus episodes before the 11th season's first half starts later in 2021.

"It’s been 10 years 'gone bye', what lies ahead are 2 more to come and stories to tell beyond that" says Scott M. Gimple, former The Walking Dead showrunner and chief content officer of the franchise, in a statement.

"What’s clear is that this show has been about the living, made by a passionate cast, team of writer/producers, producers, and crew, bringing to life the vision put forth by Robert Kirkman in his brilliant comic - and supported by the best fans in the world."

"We have a lot of thrilling story left to tell on The Walking Dead and then, this end will be a beginning of more Walking Dead - brand new stories and characters, familiar faces and places, new voices, and new mythologies."

"This will be a grand finale that will lead to new premieres. Evolution is upon us. The Walking Dead lives."

Angela Kang, The Walking Dead showrunner, says "I look forward to digging in with our brilliant writers, producers, directors, cast and crew to bring this epic final chapter of Robert Kirkman’s story to life for our fans over the next two years."

"The Walking Dead flagship series has been my creative home for a decade and so it’s bittersweet to bring it to an end, but I could not be more excited to be working with Scott Gimple and AMC to develop a new series for Daryl and Carol."

"Working with Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride has been a highlight of my career and I'm thrilled that we get to keep telling stories together."

Ed Carroll, chief operating officer at AMC Networks, says "The Walking Dead made television history, and is one of those rare creative works that has given life to an entire content universe that is still in the early stages of growing and entertaining both new and established fans".

"We can’t wait to bring viewers this expanded final season of The Walking Dead over the next two years, and launch the fourth series in the history of the franchise, focused on the beloved Daryl and Carol characters, with the incredibly talented Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Angela Kang and Scott M. Gimple."

"There really is so much 'walking' ahead, in a number of very exciting directions, for this extraordinary creative universe we call The Walking Dead."

The 6th season of the spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead will start in October.

The other spinoff series, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, following the "first generation" to grow up during the zombie apocalypse, will start on the dame day in the United States. A South African TV channel and date for The Walking Dead: World Beyond has not yet been announced.

Rick Grimes exits zombie drama, The Walking Dead - alive - as Andrew Lincoln's character will live on in 3 spin-off made-for-TV movies.

Rick Grimes has exited the zombie drama series, The Walking Dead - not unscathed, but alive - with the actor Andrew Lincoln whose character will live on in 3 spin-off made-for-TV movies.

In Monday night's 5th episode of the 9th season of The Walking Dead on FOX (Dstv 125 / StarSat 131 / Cell C black 201) entitled "What Comes After", viewers saw Rick Grimes, critically injured after his horse threw him off in the previous episode and getting impaled by a metal barb - pulling himself off of it, mounting a white horse and drawing to draw the herd of zombies away.

The former sheriff lured them over a bridge in an apparent attempt at self-sacrifice that he then blew up by shooting at dynamite to stop the walkers. Yet Rick is found alive and, injured, ends up flying away in a helicopter to a new community elsewhere.

In July Andrew Lincoln confirmed that he's done with the drama series and that the 9th season would be "my last season playing the role of Rick Grimes".

After the conclusion of the episode, AMC that produces The Walking Dead revealed that Andrew Lincoln will return as his character in at least three spin-off movies.

It's not clear whether these, produced by AMC Studios Original Films will air on AMC or Sundance TV (DStv 108), or also be shown on FOX.

Production on the first film will start in 2019 as the latest expansion plan for The Walking Dead franchise, written by executive producer and The Walking Dead chief content officer, Scott M. Gimple.

"It's not the beginning of the end, it's the end of the beginning," says Andrew Lincoln said in pre-taped insert that was broadcast during The Talking Dead on Sundance TV (DStv 108) after Monday night's episode.

"And I like the idea that we get to tell a bigger story, maybe with a sort of wider vista. And I've always been interested in what's going on out there, you know, whether or not there is contact with the wider world. I want to know the meta of it all."

"And I suppose to be able to kind of touch upon that in a contained story for me is a very exciting proposition. Maybe it's the start of a bigger story."

Scott M. Gimple in a statement says "We have a lot on the horizon - starting with a new epic featuring one of the greatest leading actors in television history and one of the best people I've ever met".

"We're starting with the first part of the continuing story of Rick Grimes, and there is much more on the way, featuring yet-unseen worlds of The Walking Dead and faces from the show's past, as well as new characters we hope to become favourites, told by The Walking Dead veterans and emerging voices."

"We want to break new ground with different, distinct stories, all part of the same world that's captured our imagination for nearly a decade of the Dead."

David Madden, president of original programming for AMC, Sundance TV and AMC Studios says "We believe this is a world and narrative with many possibilities and opportunities for character development and we're excited to expand the series into a franchise that can live across multiple formats".

"For many years, fans have talked about things in the apocalypse they want to see and now we have an opportunity to explore those stories, beginning with the character who started it all, Rick Grimes."

The Walking Dead on FOX renewed for a 9th season; gets a 4th new showrunner as longtime writer Angela Kang is promoted to executive producer before the 8th season resumes on 26 February.

The Walking Dead has been renewed for a 9th season with the zombie apocalypse drama that is also getting its 4th showrunner.

The second half of the 8th season of The Walking Dead will start on 25 February in America and on Monday 26 February at 21:00 on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131 / Cell C black 201) as one of Fox Networks Group Africa's few remaining "Express from the US" titles on the channel.

The drama series produced by AMC Studios in America, shocked in its mid-season finale by revealing that Carl Grimes, played by Chandler Riggs, has been bitten by a zombie walker.

The Walking Dead previous announced that as one of last five remaining original characters, the character will be killed off in the upcoming first new episode while the character of Morgan played by Lennie James will be leaving at the end of the season to join the spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead seen on AMC Networks International's Sundance TV (DStv 108) when the two shows do a cross-over story later this year.

Scott M. Gimple who has been with the show since the second season hasn't been fired like the previous showrunners Frank Darabont and Glen Mazzara, but is out and being moved to a new position of chief content officer over both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead.

The longtime The Walking Dead writer and co-executive producer Angela Kang, a writer on the show since 2011 and a co-executive producer since 2013, is taking over as showrunner and executive producer.

The Walking Dead has seen a ratings decline since the end of the 6th season and the latest changes behind-the-scenes are likely in an attempt to bring renew focus and storytelling to the series.

“We are proud to acknowledge Angela Kang’s significant contribution to the series and to set a clear path forward for a ninth season under her direction. Further, with gratitude and admiration, we also recognize Scott M. Gimple’s broad impact on, and leadership of, the content that fuels our The Walking Dead universe,” says AMC in a statement. “Together, we will dream bigger and more broadly than ever before.”

“The Walking Dead is a special show which started in an entirely different era of TV, and continues, in this new era, to confidently take chances to tell compelling stories that excite audiences and make them deeply connect with its characters, adapting Robert Kirkman’s brilliant comic book,” says Scott M. Gimple.

“As the show closes in on its tenth year, I’m honoured to keep working with the talented, dedicated people behind and in front of the camera to make it all it can be, while expanding the world of The Walking Dead with new narratives like Fear the Walking Dead and a whole host of truly cool stories ahead. Angela is a big part of the heart and soul of The Walking Dead, and I’m thrilled to help facilitate her vision of the show’s next era.”

Angela Kang says “I am beyond thrilled to be stepping into this new role with The Walking Dead. Working on this series and having the opportunity to adapt Robert Kirkman’s amazing comic has been a fangirl dream come true for me.”

“I’m excited to continue working with Scott M. Gimple and the wonderfully supportive folks at AMC, and can’t wait to share the next chapter of the story with our fans".