‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ is Making a Major Departure from ‘The Walking Dead’ Franchise

The Walking Dead: Dead City marks the latest addition to the ever-expanding Walking Dead universe, consisting of multiple interconnected series. Surprisingly, AMC wasted no time in releasing this new spinoff, hitting the airwaves in June, a mere seven months after the conclusion of the main show.

What caught me off guard was the inclusion of two prominent characters from the original series—Maggie and Negan—making their return in this new installment. Furthermore, AMC has another spinoff, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, centered around yet another main character from the original show, scheduled to air later this year. The pace at which these new series are being churned out is truly astonishing.

However, the most unexpected aspect of Dead City is that it doesn’t disappoint. This is quite a departure from recent entries in The Walking Dead franchise, which have been plagued by mediocrity. It almost felt like AMC was deliberately providing subpar television to its dedicated fanbase, particularly within the realm of the zombie genre.

The first spinoff, Fear The Walking Dead, had a promising start and even reached impressive heights during its third season. Unfortunately, with the departure of the original showrunner and the introduction of new creative minds, the quality of the series took a nosedive. The writing became abysmal, the plots turned ludicrous and unrealistic, completely altering the show’s tone and undermining the integrity of its original characters.

Curiously, AMC made no effort to rectify the situation. Over the course of five seasons, Fear The Walking Dead continued its downward spiral, with each installment exhibiting progressively poorer writing, storytelling, and production value. By its final season, the show became barely watchable, as if those involved were deliberately striving for its abysmal quality.

The same can be said for World Beyond, which, despite its best intentions, failed to deliver a compelling viewing experience. Even The Walking Dead, after partially recovering from its disastrous seventh and eighth seasons, stumbled in its final installment, resulting in an astonishingly tedious and uneventful conclusion.

Remarkably, Dead City breaks this pattern. After just three episodes, it appears that, for the first time in a long while, the creators have made a concerted effort to avoid the pitfalls that plagued its predecessors. Admittedly, the first episode left much to be desired, but the show rebounded swiftly with episodes two and three, showcasing a noticeable improvement in quality and engagement.