Opinion: The more The Walking Dead, the merrier

News of a third spinoff in The Walking Dead universe had fans talking about the good, the bad and the ugly aspects. The more zombies, the merrier…right?

The world of The Walking Dead is about to get bigger with the announcement that a third spinoff is coming in 2020. The new series, with showrunner Matt Negrete at the helm, will focus on two young females as the protagonists, and it sounds unlike anything else fans have seen so far. With this third show joining The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, zombie fans have a lot to look forward to.

It’s hard to believe that The Walking Dead just wrapped its ninth season. Back in 2010, before the show debuted, there were some critics who thought AMC was nuts for taking a chance on a zombie apocalypse show in their primetime lineup. Fast forward to 2019 and the show is still going – perhaps stronger in season 9 than the past few seasons, depending on who you ask – and there’s a companion series heading into its fifth season, and now a third show coming in 2020.

As a fan of The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, I couldn’t be more thrilled that a new series is coming. Not only am I a huge fan of Negrete’s work on The Walking Dead, but I’m also incredibly curious to see what this new series has in store. The premise is fascinating:

"The third series in a franchise that includes the global hit series The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead will feature two young female protagonists and focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the apocalypse as we know it. Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. In the end, all of them will be changed forever. Grown-up and cemented in their identities, both good and bad."

So far we have seen several youngsters grow up in the apocalypse, with varied results. Henry. The Hilltop teens. Judith. Lizzie and Mika. Enid. Carl. Charlie. Alicia. Many of these kids have grown up in the background and it isn’t until we see them on the In Memoriam segment on Talking Dead that we realize how much they have grown up before our eyes. It could be a lot of fun to have a focus on two characters who have come of age in the apocalypse and follow along with their adventures.

It’s important to acknowledge that there’s a real chance that the new show won’t be for everyone. There has already been a lot of chatter online about the new series, both positive and negative. It could miss the mark. It might not appeal to everyone. That’s always a possibility, and that’s ok. For me, personally, I’m not going to knock anything until I see it for myself and that’s why I’m exciting to see what it’s all about.

To be perfectly honest, I think it’s an amazing thing to have a network that is willing to put so much zombie content out there. It says a lot about the way our tastes in programming has changed and it’s nice to think that at any given time it’s possible to turn on the television and find zombies, witches, vampires and dragons.

I’m personally very excited to see how this all plays out. There’s no telling how a third series might fit into the larger Walking Dead universe, and with a solid production team turning out high quality stories there’s no question that the more zombies out there, the better.