Is Tales of the Walking Dead linked to The Walking Dead?

AMC Networks has introduced several additional series within The Walking Dead universe. Several of these series introduce new characters set in the same timeline as the original series, while others feature fan-favorite characters whose stories began in the main series but are continued in the spinoff. In the summer of 2022, the third spinoff, Tales of the Walking Dead, premiered. Though set in the same world, this series was vastly different from the others.

Tales of the Walking Dead season 1 consists of six episodes introducing many new characters to TWDU. The unique element of this series is that each episode is a stand-alone story. This anthology series features six stories set in different areas of the United States at various times after the outbreak, including one set 30 years into the future.

What sets this series apart is that it isn’t directly linked to The Walking Dead. Viewers could watch any of the six episodes without ever seeing another episode of TWD and understand the story. One episode, “Dee,” featured Alpha (Samantha Morton) from the flagship series in an origin story. She was known as Dee during this time and had a young Lydia (Scarlett Blum) in tow. Although this character is in TWD series, a new viewer would still enjoy this tale.

Is it worth watching Tales of the Walking Dead?

Tales of TWD is a great standalone series, which, if it didn’t have The Walking Dead name attached, many would have enjoyed this without comparing it to the main series. Many interesting characters are introduced, and it is fascinating to see how people acclimated to living in an undead apocalypse.

One issue some viewers had with this series was that it didn’t include more TWD characters. When first announced, the series sounded like many familiar faces would be featured in one-off stories. This was not the case, but a new short-form series, More, Tales of the Walking Dead, was announced, which could be something along this vein. We will share details of that series when they are announced.

Another great thing about this series is that actors only had to commit to one episode, which allowed many talented actors to commit to the project. This series features  Oliva Munn, Jessie T. Usher, Danny Ramirez, Loan Chabanol, Embeth Davitz, Lauren Glazier, Daniella Pineda, Terry Crews, Anthony Edwards, Poppy Liu, Parker Posey, Julian Bell, Matt Medrano, Scarlett Blum and more.

Tales of the Walking Dead is available on AMC+ and is listed for viewing on Prime Video, Roku, and DirecTV stream.

Check out our Tales of TWD episode rankings at the link below.

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