The Walking Dead Will End After 11 Seasons in 2022 — But 2 New Spinoffs Are in the Works

The first spinoff, premiering in 2023, will star Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride in their roles as Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier, respectively

The Walking Dead. Photo: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

The Walking Dead is coming to an end.

The hit zombie apocalypse series will conclude in 2022 with an expanded 11th season, AMC announced on Wednesday. The first 12 episodes of season 11 will air in 2021, while the remaining dozen episodes will air the following year.

The season 10 finale was intended to air in April but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The episode will now air on Oct. 4, followed by six bonus episodes in 2021 to conclude the season.

The network also announced Wednesday that two spinoffs are in the works, the first centering on Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon and Melissa McBrides' Carol Peletier. Created by TWD showrunner Angela Kang and chief content officer Scott M. Gimple, the untitled series will premiere in 2023.

A second spinoff, Tales of The Walking Dead, is being developed by AMC and Gimple, 49. The series will be an episodic anthology with individual episodes or arcs of episodes focused on new or existing characters, backstories or other stand-alone experiences.

Gene Page/AMC

"It's been ten years ‘gone bye;’ what lies ahead are two more to come and stories and stories to tell beyond that,” Gimple said 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 TWD, 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.”

“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,” said Kang, 44, “‘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.”

The Walking Dead. Gene Page/AMC

TWD, which premiered in 2010, currently stars Reedus, McBride, Danai Gurira, Christian Serratos, Josh McDermitt, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand and Khary Payton. It has already spawned two spinoffs: Fear the Walking Dead, which premieres its sixth season next month, and the forthcoming The Walking Dead: The World Beyond.