In news that was inevitable but still shocking, AMC announced yesterday that the end is nigh for The Walking Dead. The post-apocalyptic drama is confirmed to conclude following six additional episodes of season 10 airing in early 2021 and a super-sized 24-episode season 11. In 2022, the long-running series will come to a close, leaving behind various different spinoffs.
This is a monumental occasion for fans, but it means even more to those who have worked on the show over the years. Case in point: ComicBook.com has obtained a copy of the letter sent to the 300-strong cast and crew of The Walking Dead following the news of its conclusion. As authored by chief content officer Scott M. Gimple and showruner Angela Kang, the letter discusses the incredible impact TWD has made around the world and their ambitions for its final season.
Read it below:
TWD Family,
As you may have seen in the press, we’ve come to a very big moment.
After our next, supersized season that will span a couple years, The Walking Dead will be coming to an end.
For all of us — especially those who have been a part of this show for the better part of a decade — this is a seismic announcement. Just to break it down:
- Season 11 will be the final, extended season of The Walking Dead, running 24 episodes, probably shooting until early 2022. (We say “probably,” being optimistic but recognizing current production-pandemic uncertainties that affect the schedule.)
- A Carol & Daryl spinoff has been greenlit by AMC for 2023.
- Tales of The Walking Dead, an anthology series, is in development, as well as other possible TWD series/expressions.
We can’t believe the end is upon us, however far away it is. This crew, this cast, these writer/producers and producers are the show. You are this show’s immediate future of 30 astounding episodes to fulfill our epic story and you will be among those who seal its legacy in entertainment history.
We have reached millions around the world, and we will continue to reach millions more. There’s a lot of work ahead of us, a lot of opportunities to be there for each other, to bring out each other’s best, to bring our show to new heights of excellence.
We’re lucky to have an audience that has stuck by us over ten years of massive change in the world. We hope to have been a point of stability in people’s lives — something they could count on every week (or as part of a late summer binge) to make them feel — happy, heartbroken, intrigued, scared, excited, inspired. Maybe a little grossed out. Maybe considering things about their own life. Maybe considering who they are. People will need those feelings again. And that stability again. And we can give that to them with this epic final season, the last chapter of a multi-year saga of people figuring out how to live in a broken world.
There is hard work, good times, and amazing moments ahead. The only way we can climb this mountain of episodes is how we’ve always done it: together. Let’s begin the long road to the end, standing side by side, in solidarity to do some awesome stuff with all the people who got us here, for all the people who got us here.
As ever, we are The Walking Dead.
– Scott M. Gimple & Angela Kang
As stated above, the show that started it all might be wrapping up, but the franchise overall remains in rude health. Gimple will continue to oversee the expansion of the brand in new, exciting ways. In particular, he’s penning the scripts for the Rick Grimes movie trilogy starring Andrew Lincoln. Meanwhile, Kang is hopping over to helm a spinoff series featuring Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride, which will debut in 2023.
All together, we’ve got 30 episodes still to come of The Walking Dead over the next two years, so it’s by no means over yet. And that’s not including the new seasons of Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond coming this fall. Nor is it taking into account the long-delayed season 10 finale, which is set to hit AMC on Sunday, October 4th – or AMC Premiere on the first of the month.
