After its premiere in 2010, The Walking Dead has been one of Netflix's most popular licensed shows. Now, it looks more likely that The Walking Dead could potentially be leaving Netflix sometime in the near future.
Earlier this year, we learned AMC was interested in selling the licensing rights to The Walking Dead after its current deal with Netflix expires less than 12 months from February 2026. We don't know the exact date that The Walking Dead could be leaving Netflix, but that's what AMC Global Media CEO Kristin Dolan revealed to press and investors on an earnings call.
Now, it looks like there are some bidders on the future rights of The Walking Dead, which means the series could actually be leaving Netflix rather soon.
According to a report from Deadline, Dolan told investors that there are "very large and enthusiastic partners in the bidding process" for the licensing rights to The Walking Dead and all 11 seasons of the hit AMC series created by Robert Kirkman.
Here's Dolan's full quote from the earnings call on Friday, May 8:
"We’ve been really excited about the inbound for discussion on the licensing rights for The Walking Dead. We’re really looking at every scenario. There’s a variety of ways to look at it. We definitely feel it’s important to keep some of the content for ourselves co-exclusively, so we’re emphasizing the fact that we’re looking predominantly a co-exclusive deals, but there are some very large and enthusiastic partners in the bidding process right now. So, we’re really looking at any variety of constructs, but the key thing for us is co-exclusivity.”
Now, Dolan didn't name them, but we have to assume that Netflix is also part of that grouping of interested bidders, but there's a lot more competition this time around.
We don't know the other streaming services involved in the licensing rights discussion, but we have a few in mind that could be interested, including Prime Video. Still, no streamer has the reach in the US and abroad that Netflix has.
While the licensing rights battle is between these so-called major players, it has the potential to get messier than it already is. If The Walking Dead moves, it could be leaving some shows on different streamers.
Personally, I like that, in the United States, so many of The Walking Dead shows are available to stream on Netflix. Right now, you can stream The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon, and Dead City on Netflix. That hasn't always been the case, but it has for a while.
But, it's still confusing. Having one central home for The Walking Dead globally on Netflix, Prime Video, or even HBO Max could be very interesting for that streaming service. It would be enticing for Walking Dead fans to have all the shows and spinoffs in one place.
Is that likely to happen? Well, probably not. Based on the latest comments, it appears that AMC is looking for a co-exclusive arrangement that will keep the series on AMC+ while also selling the rights to another streaming service.
There's still a lot that will need to be worked out between AMC and the potential suitors, and it's going to be very interesting to see if Netflix likes the arrangement it has or if one of the other bidders will take a bigger swing to cash in on The Walking Dead.
Prime Video is probably the most interesting because it's had success with Robert Kirkman, who created The Walking Dead and the hit Prime Video series, Invincible. That streamer is definitely one to watch!
If you have time, you can catch up on Daryl Dixon before season 4 premieres later this year. Dead City season 3 will be released sooner, most likely, so you can also watch the first two seasons of that show on Netflix right now, too!
Stay tuned for more news about the future of The Walking Dead! We'll let you know more as AMC reveals who wins the bidding war and what happens next.
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