Walking Dead fans have had their fair share of memories from the beloved series. After all, we're talking about a franchise here that was led by the original series for 12 years as The Walking Dead thrilled, gripped, and downright terrified audiences around the world between 2010 and 2022. And thanks to its lasting impact on streaming, it continues to do that year after year.
It also lives on in the spinoffs it has created, with two of them still ongoing. Dead City and Daryl Dixon are the foundations that keep the TWD Universe alive and even though the latter of those shows will be concluding this year, the other seems like it will still have at least another year or two left. And speaking of the franchise, it has just celebrated a huge milestone.
The TWD Universe era celebrates its third-anniversary on June 18
It has officially been three years since The Walking Dead: Dead City premiered on AMC and AMC+. The first of the new wave of TWD spinoffs, it made its highly-anticipated debut on both platforms on June 18, 2023, and to say that it marked a new era for the franchise would be an understatement.
The series, led by Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, brought back Walking Dead fixtures Maggie Rhee and Negan for a brand new adventure in a brand new location. It was set six years after the final episode of the original series and saw the old rivals forced together again as Maggie needed Negan's help in saving her son Hershel - who had been taken by one of the former villain's buddies in New York City. While the idea of reviving the age-old feud between them divided fans as it was wrapped up in the series finale of the OG show, the first season undeniably delivered.
Dead City was a resounding success on all fronts. The series became the most-watched in AMC+ history, setting a record that would only be beaten by subsequent Walking Dead spinoffs. Once again a sign that the franchise's new era was destined for success. Another sign? Why, only the fact that the show was ultimately renewed for a second season (alongside Daryl Dixon), paving the way for an ongoing chapter for the franchise that wasn't an open-and-closed book.
See, Dead City was merely the first chapter in the brand new TWD Universe era. After The Walking Dead concluded, it set three new spinoffs in motion that were each specifically designed to carry on its legacy. Daryl Dixon would take Norman Reedus' Daryl to France, where he would eventually be joined by his best friend Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride), The Ones Who Live would finish up the stories of Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes and Danai Gurira's Michonne, and Dead City would take Maggie and Negan to Manhattan. Although original spinoff Fear The Walking Dead would air its eighth and final season during this initial wave too, it was Dead City that really kicked this new era for the franchise off.
The first season of Dead City was the first of the new TWD Universe batch of shows, paving the way for the first season of Daryl Dixon later that year. In February 2024, The Ones Who Live would air its single season as the miniseries completed the story it set out to tell. But it would only be beginning for the franchise still, as the other two spinoffs continued to run for more seasons.
Daryl Dixon will wrap up this year with its fourth and final season while Dead City returns for its third season this summer. It's unclear as to whether there will be more of the Maggie and Negan-led after that, but as AMC has not yet announced that the show's upcoming return is "the final season", there is a pretty high chance that there are plans to continue the series - and therefore the franchise - beyond that.
While Dead City has had its ups and downs, the third season is shaping up to be one of the most interesting seasons that the TWD Universe has produced in recent years. Maggie and Negan have put their differences aside to help their shared ally Perlie Armstrong bring back New York City as the trio attempt to craft a legacy revolving around rebuilding for the future. With a new showrunner in TWD veteran Seth Hoffman and a brand new tone, it looks like it might be an enjoyable addition to the legendary franchise.
With that in mind, let's look back and celebrate the three-year aniversary of The Walking Dead: Dead City's premiere as it started not only a thrilling show but an exciting new chapter for the TWD Universe that has breathed new life into the franchise. Long may the TWD Universe era continue!
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