We got some very surprising news this morning – sort of. IGN tweeted that The Walking Dead is set to end following a mega-sized season 11 in 2022. However, it will then be replaced with a spinoff show focusing on two of the series’ most popular characters. Here’s the thing, though: IGN then quickly deleted the post, denying us further details for now.
See below for a screenshot of the tweet, snapped prior to its deletion, where IGN appears to break the news that the AMC post-apocalyptic drama will conclude with a 24-episode season 11, which will end two years from now. A follow-up show starring Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon and Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier will then debut in 2023.
Presumably what happened here is that IGN accidentally posted their story earlier than they should have, perhaps because of an AMC embargo on the exclusive. So, look out for official confirmation on this later today. Seeing as we’ve found out the big news earlier than intended, though, let’s start speculating about what this means.
First of all, it looks like we’ve got 30 more episodes of The Walking Dead still to come, not including the delayed season 10 finale hitting in October. Six additional episodes, packaged as season 10c, will air in early 2021, and as IGN notes that season 11 will end in 2022, we can presumably bank on it debuting in fall 2021. The original plan was likely to conclude things with season 12, but due to the coronavirus, this seems to have been amended now.
The result is a final season that’s eight episodes longer than usual, which should make for a grand final run for what’s still one of the most-watched shows on TV. As for what form the Daryl and Carol series could take, it’s hard to say until we get more details, but does this tell us that the pair will end up together on The Walking Dead? Perhaps.
