The Dead City team teases how the spin-off will differ from The Walking Dead
For starters, the Maggie and Negan-centered Dead Citymoves from Georgia's woods to a cold New York City
AMC’s long-running The Walking Dead might be over, but like the zombies at its core, the franchise isn’t ready to die yet. TWD wrapped up after 11 seasons last year, but several spin-offs are still in development. Yes, even besides Fear The Walking Dead, TWD: World Beyond, and Tales Of The Walking Dead.
At the Television Critics Association’s (TCA) winter press tour, AMC President Dan McDermott told reporters the Norman Reedus-led Daryl Dixon series would premiere in the second half of 2023 and is set in Paris. Another spin-off follows Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira), which goes into production later this year with a 2024 release date. The spin-off releasing first, though, is Dead City.
Set a few years after TWD, Dead City is based on Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) adventures in New York City. Based on the footage shown during TCA, a new group of villains has kidnapped Maggie’s kid in the Big Apple. For some reason, Negan is the only one who can help her save him. That’s right, she has to rely on the same man who killed her husband (RIP, Glenn). They band together to figure out a solution, with Negan claiming at some point “he’s paid the price for his actions.”
But with all these spin-offs set in the same universe, will Dead City feel different? According to series creator Eli Jorné, it helps that unlike TWD, Dead City doesn’t have 20 series regulars. It allows the writers to hone in on Maggie and Negan’s tumultuous history and relationship. Also: the location change makes a difference, apparently. “The show has an urban environment. A lot of new things can happen for walkers and human beings there. We love the ideas of zombies walking on the Brooklyn Bridge or under the Eiffel Tower,” he said. Series star Cohan agreed, adding: “It’s cold and unfamiliar for both characters not to be in Georgia’s woods. It’s a new terrain that is unwelcoming.”
Morgan—whose TWD entry is forever marked by his brutal bashing of Glenn— told reporters he still gets shit for the scene from fans on the street. “I didn’t think Negan would still be here and part of this world,” Morgan said. “The writers have fleshed out a character who lived beyond the comics. It’s tricky.”
Dead City also stars Gaius Charles, Željko Ivanek, Michael Anthony, Jonathan Higginbottom, and Mahina Napoleon. It will premiere on AMC in June 2023.