That "Daryl And Carol" Walking Dead spin-off just lost Carol

Bad news for fans of everyone’s favorite platonic zombie-slaying power couple (from, like, 2015) today: TVLine reports that the previously announced Walking Dead spin-off series centered on fan-favorite characters Daryl and Carol has just lost its Carol.

That’s right: Actor Melissa McBride has made like so much cultural enthusiasm for The Walking Dead itself, bailing on the franchise at long last. Which is to say that McBride has apparently departed the planned series, leaving Norman Reedus, who plays lovable crossbow wielder Daryl Dixon, as the show’s full lead.

Despite rumors that the loss of the Carol character (who’s spun through various flavors of heroic and antiheroic throughout the mothership show’s 12-year run) was a creative decision, AMC has asserted that it’s simply a scheduling problem, with McBride apparently unavailable to travel to Europe to film the untitled series.

Hey, it’s network spokesperson time:

Melissa McBride has given life to one of the most interesting, real, human and popular characters in The Walking Dead Universe. Unfortunately, she is no longer able to participate in the previously announced spinoff focused on the Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier characters, which will be set and filmed in Europe this summer and premiere next year. Relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time. We know fans will be disappointed by this news, but The Walking Dead Universe continues to grow and expand in interesting ways and we very much hope to see Carol again in the near future.

The Carol and Daryl spin-off was originally announced back in September 2020, as the original Walking Dead was gearing up for its very slowly rolling final season, which is set to wrap up some time this year. The show would be the fourth narrative Walking Dead spin-off, after Fear The, World Beyond, and the upcoming anthology series Tales Of The.