The Walking Dead comic created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard served as the inspiration for the AMC series. In Jan. 2010 AMC announced the order of a pilot for a series that would adapt the comic for TV. Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd were announced as executive producers with Darabont also serving as writer and director.

On Halloween night 2010, The Walking Dead premiered on AMC and would become the networks flagship series. The series ran for eleven seasons and would inspire the creation of several spinoffs, webisodes, and videos games.

The first three spinoffs, Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and Tales of the Walking Dead, featured new characters and locations, set in the same world as the original.

After the announcement that the eleventh season would conclude the main story, several new spinoffs were announced. These would be quite different from the first three as they are sequel series that would feature characters originally introduced in TWD.

The Walking Dead: Dead City

The Walking Dead: Dead City premiered in June 2023 and focuses on Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in post-apocalyptic Manhattan. The first season followed Maggie in a desperate attempt to rescue her son, who had been abducted, enlist the help of her long time enemy Negan.

The series has been renewed for a second season that will premiere in Spring 2025. This time it appears Maggie and Negan are, once again, on opposing sides in the fight for control of Manhattan.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

The second direct spinoff, Daryl Dixon, focuses on the title character, played by Norman Reedus. The first season followed Daryl as he was shipped off to France, where he encountered a new group, The Union of Hope. He is determined to return home but agrees to aid the group, which believes a young boy will be the one to save humanity.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 will premiere in 2025 and has been renewed for a third. The first season is available to stream on Netflix.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live

The Ones Who Live is the third direct spinoff focusing on the epic love story of Rick and Michonne. Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira return to TWDU in a reprisal of their roles as Rick and Michonne, where they are reunited and come against the CRM (Civic Republic Military).

The Ones Who Live is a limited six-part season that will begin streaming on Netflix beginning Jan. 13, 2025.