Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan in The Walking Dead: Dead City

Last year, Netflix inked a deal with AMC to bring some of their most popular shows to the biggest streaming platform in the world, and thus far, the partnership has proven beneficial to both parties. AMC series like Dark Winds, A Discovery of Witches, and The Walking Dead became streaming hits once again on Netflix, entering the Top 10 charts long after their premiere. That being said, there was one show that was expected to hit Netflix last month that, for whatever reason, is now coming out in March: The Walking Dead: Dead City.

Per What’s on Netflix, Dead City will now make its streaming debut on Netflix on March 17, 2025. Neither AMC nor Netflix commented on the shift in programming, but it’s pretty easy to figure out why it happened. The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 is expected to drop in either April or May, making the timing perfect for those wanting to check out Season 1, who may subscribe to AMC+ to watch Season 2 after. The same thing happened with The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, which became a streaming hit on Netflix shortly before the release of its second season last year, which then prompted a slew of people to sign up for AMC – thus proving yet again that what’s been dubbed the “Netflix Effect” is very real.

Starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dead City is the fifth series in The Walking Dead franchise and reunites fan-favorite characters and longtime rivals Maggie and Negan. Set in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan, the pair go on the hunt for Maggie’s missing son, Hershel, battling Walker, marauders, and a whole host of baddies along the way, including The Croat (Željko Ivanek) and The Dama (Lisa Emery). The series has garnered generally favorable reviews from fans and critics and sits at 79% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing.

‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ Season 2 Features An All-New Bad Guy

Thus far, The Walking Dead has presented fans with some of the most delicious villains one could ask for in a zombie-riddled wasteland. The Governor, Alpha, and yes, even Negan are a few that come to mind, but Dead City Season 2 is set to introduce us to one of the most diabolical bad guys yet: Bruegel, portrayed by outstanding character actor Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy, American Primeval).

Not much is known about how the newest baddie fits into the grand scheme of things, but in an interview with MovieWeb earlier this year, Coates called him both “funny and vicious” at the same time. He also mentioned Bruegel is a character he’s “never played before,” which is saying a lot when you consider Coates has portrayed some of our most unhinged favorites over the years, including Tig Trager in the aforementioned Sons of Anarchy. “He’s a dink,” Coates added, continuing:

“He’s just a bad person, he’s super smart, he’s a billionaire. He lived in this incredible enclave during the zombie apocalypse in Manhattan, and when he came out, zombies were running Manhattan, he got his own little gang together. There’s three or four gangs in Season 2, and Bruegel is my name, and I’m certainly the biggest gang member of my squad. I kill a lot of zombies.”

Look for The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 to premiere later this year on AMC, and be sure to check out Season 1 when it hits Netflix on March 17. You can watch our interview with Coates above, where he discusses not only his new villain but also his time on the Netflix hit American Primeval and Sons of Anarchy.