It's a brand new year and that understandably brings forth ample opportunity for growth, change, and new challenges. For The Walking Dead fans, it's an opportunity to celebrate the long-running franchise's newest milestones - and believe us, there will be quite a few of them.
For a start, the original series will celebrate the 16th anniversary of its debut this October, while ongoing spinoffs / sequel series Daryl Dixon and Dead City are expected to return for new seasons. And with that, the legend of the TWD Universe will continue for another year (and perhaps many, many more years, too).
There is another reason for celebration, as this year will also mark the return of a Walking Dead icon to the awesome franchise.
Seth Hoffman returns to TWD this year as Dead City season 3's showrunner
If the new TWD shows have left you craving the franchise's glory days again, then you're in luck. Longtime Walking Dead veteran Seth Hoffman is returning to the franchise after years away to serve as the new showrunner of Dead City, which heads into its third season.
Hoffman takes over from Eli Jorné, who has decided to step down after two seasons. To say he did a great job with the series would be an understatement, as Dead City was the first of the three new spinoffs to launch after The Walking Dead's conclusion. With its vivid imagery and reinvention of the walkers for the new Manhattan setting, it set the tone for the ones that came after it, utilizing the feud between longtime TWD characters Maggie Rhee and Negan to make it happen.
That being said, fans are excited for Hoffman's return to the TWD franchise. The new showrunner has extensive experience on the AMC juggernaut, having served as the showrunner on the original TWD series' fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons - all three of which are considered as being among the show's prime years. Speaking of The Walking Dead's prime, Hoffman has also penned some of the greatest episodes in the show's 12-season history, particularly the legendary "Too Far Gone" - the heartbreaking season 4 episode that saw the Governor lead an all-out battle against Rick and his friends in the prison, which ultimately led to Hershel's death. Other episodes that he wrote are season 6's "JSS", "No Way Out" and "Not Tomorrow Yet".
Although we will see his work on our screens in the not-too-distant future, Dead City season 3 has already wrapped filming - so his vision for the show has already come to life. We're just eagerly awaiting its premiere.
Having Hoffman back in what is otherwise a bit of an uncertain year for the TWD Universe is undoubtedly a good thing. A familiar voice in the franchise known for his powerful episodes might just be the stabilizing force that it needs. And it might show audiences that there is a lot of life left in Dead City - which might be surprising to some considering that it was the first of the newer offshoots.
It's unclear what the immediate future for Dead City or this new wave of Walking Dead spinoffs looks like right now. For one, The Ones Who Live came to an end after just one season as it was a miniseries designed to last for just six episodes. Now, Daryl Dixon will conclude later this year with its fourth and final season. That could very well leave Dead City as the last TWD show standing, so having Hoffman on-board is good news for it - especially if it has more seasons left in it.
But it might not be over for the TWD franchise just yet, as AMC's Chief Content Officer of The Walking Dead Universe, Scott M. Gimple, and AMC Networks President Dan McDermott recently revealed that there are more plans for the saga and that they could see it carrying on for another 15 years!
In the meantime, we get to celebrate Seth Hoffman's comeback in 2026. Although AMC has yet to confirm an exact release date for Dead City season 3, the third season did recently wrap production, essentially solidifying a 2026 release. We can't wait to see what Seth Hoffman, Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and the rest of the cast and crew have in store for us!