The Walking Dead is ending and I’m so relieved
Considering how often I have written posts about wishing The Walking Dead would end, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t write something now that my wish is coming true.
Yesterday it was announced that the show would end in 2022 with an extended 24-episode 11th season, which will follow an additional six episodes this current season 10 – which means we still have THIRTY MORE EPISODES!
I have to say, I was shocked by this news. Yes, the viewers have significantly dropped, big leads have left (like Andrew Lincoln as Rick and Danai Gurira as Michonne) and it has been losing steam for ages, but I honestly thought it would go on forever. It seemed like The Walking Dead team would never call it a day when they could keep peddling out more filler.
For a long time, I have been torn over the decision to stop watching and almost did following Michonne’s frustrating exit (don’t even get me started on Rick’s infuriating departure) but I kept going because I had come so far. We’re 146 episodes deep at this point! That’s commitment. So I’m really glad there is an end in sight, even if it is basically two seasons’ worth of material.
The most interesting news to me was actually that Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) are getting their own spin-off. This makes so much sense! I think this is a really wise decision because those two – the only remaining original cast members – are the only ones left that people still care about (although I’d like to throw Judith in there as she’s a feisty one) and they have a great relationship worth exploring in a different way. By starting a spin-off show, they are basically hitting the reset button on the original series, getting rid of the crap, and taking it in a fresh, invigorating direction (that’s the theory anyway). The series had got tired and stale and had lost forward momentum so this is a great way to revive it.
But will I be watching this spin-off show? Probably not. I don’t love Carol as much as everyone else seems to and I feel pretty over that whole universe.
You can read my previous articles about The Walking Dead here.