Content Warning: The Walking Dead: Dead City is an 18+ rated show that depicts violence, gore, profanity, and other mature themes that may not be suitable for audiences under 17.

Fans of the popular series The Walking Dead (TWD) were left disappointed when the series finally came to an end in November of last year. The show, rated 18+, was one of the biggest shows to ever air on cable television, with peak viewership at 17 million viewers. Although the setting and storyline may have been slightly repetitive, the characters and relationships they had were what really drew people in. In this new series, two characters named Maggie and Negan go to New York City during the post-apocalypse. These two characters do not have the best history with one another, with Negan brutally killing Maggie’s husband in front of her and oppressing her and the other main characters during Negan’s villain era. 

Some of the most loved characters in the show were: Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln; Daryl Dixon, played by Norman Reedus; and Carol Peletier, played by Melissa McBride. TWD has two other spinoff shows titled Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond, which take place in the same universe but don’t feature the widely loved characters from the main series. The new series featuring Negan and Maggie will be a much more anticipated show for lots of fans because of their connection to its protagonists. 

The trailers that have been released as of recently show Maggie coming across Negan, who wandered off in the later episodes of the main series, and kidnapping him. She then takes him in her car to a boat that will take them from Virginia to Manhattan. The crazy and exciting thing about going to Manhattan during a zombie apocalypse is that the Borough of Manhattan is home to around 1.5 million people. And since most people have been turned into walkers; the show’s term for zombies, it would mean that the entire island of Manhattan is infested. TWD fans are used to rural and suburban settings with a manageable number of zombies, but how will the protagonists in this new series fend off the millions of zombies that dwell in Manhattan? 

People who aren’t fans of the show may erroneously believe that the walkers are the most worrying part of TWD’s apocalyptic future. However, fans are aware that the human survivors are usually the biggest issue, and the trailer confirms this with the brief introduction to a faction that rules Manhattan. Maggie states that she is going there because the people have kidnapped her son and is taking Negan with her because he has knowledge and connections with the people that reside in the borough. It can be assumed that Negan acquired these connections from when he used to be a dictator of a faction from the main show. All of these factors coming together will certainly result in exciting content for fans of TWD. 

Freshman Brady Duboe is a fan of the series, and shared his thoughts on how he thinks this will play out.

“I don’t see Maggie and Negan’s interactions ending in anything but tensions and discord if they don’t end up killing each other. If an end to the conflict happens, it would be ideal but not realistic. I’m very curious as to what new elements and characters will be introduced into this new series, and the worldbuilding that comes with it.” 

Fans can definitely look forward to watching The Walking Dead: Dead City when it releases on June 18, 2023. This is only the first of a handful of anticipated spinoff shows that will reveal unanswered questions as well as add new twists to the universe, and the fans are all for it.

Photo Courtesy of PIXABAY