When The Walking Dead ended, AMC launched three new spinoff series that brought new adventures for some of the franchise's most tenured characters. Rick Grimes and Michonne reunited in The Ones Who Live, Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier went to France in Daryl Dixon, and Maggie Rhee and Negan crossed paths again in a new Manhattan mission in Dead City.
It was Dead City that actually kicked the new TWD Universe era off, arriving in the summer of 2023. The spinoff very quickly made it clear that the franchise was ready for new horizons, with its six-episode larger-than-life approach allowing for more contained, expensive-looking adventures. And Dead City understood the assignment to perfection.
Like any show, it had some mild teething issues along the way but it started the saga's new era on a high, with stars Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan turning in some of their finest work yet. Its second season has had a bit more of a bumpy ride, both in terms of its storytelling and it's overall buzz. The good news is that it will return for a third season as AMC renewed it earlier this summer. And with that in mind, it's important that it avoids the second season's biggest mistake.
The wait for Dead City season 2 completely upended its early momentum
In summer 2023, The Walking Dead: Dead City premiered to positive reviews and glowing fan reception. It successfully resurrected one of the original show's long-running plot threads - Maggie and Negan's long-standing feud - and added new layers to it, all while expanding the horizons of the TWD Universe through its New York City setting. The pair had to put their differences aside to save Maggie's son Hershel from one of Negan's old friends, meaning that they had to work together. It also featured an unexpected twist that left audiences wondering who the real villain of this particular story was.
The show's cliffhanger ending set up a very interesting second season as Maggie wrestled with the guilt of betraying her long-time nemesis. She knew he had changed his ways but still turned him into The Croat and The Dama to get her son back. But could she live with that, especially as she knew that Negan has a family too? It was a great teaser for what was to come and a strong finish to what had been a great opening chapter to the TWD Universe's new era. But all of that momentum was stalled by the excessively long wait for season 2.
Since Dead City's first season aired, there have been two seasons of Daryl Dixon and the one and only season of The Ones Who Live airing on-screens. In fact, Dead City's second season arrived just shortly before the third season of Daryl, which highlights the differences between the production schedules of these two shows. And it's also an indicator of which one has maintained more momentum.
When Daryl Dixon premiered in September 2023, it broke the record Dead City set as the best-performing series premiere on AMC+ (The Ones Who Live would subsequently outdo both) and it would sustain that momentum by airing its second season in the same slot the very next year. It has now found an annual groove like the one that classic TV shows once lived by, releasing a new season in September each year (Season 3 arrives on September 7, 2025) and that helps to ensure that fans will tune in each and every year for the short-but-thrilling seasons. It will return for a fourth and final season next year which, let's be honest, will likely premiere in September 2026.
Dead City, on the other hand, released its second season almost two whole years after its first premiered, which meant that there was an unexpectedly long wait between offerings. Unfortunately, it showed, as the ratings were significantly lower than the first season's were - bringing in just half of the audience of its predecessor. Granted, a ratings drop was always going to happen as the TWD Universe is a 15-year-old franchise and less people are watching TV on the night/week of its release these days. But Dead City's viewership drop-off was unexpectedly harsh. And, well, to be honest, the lengthy wait for the second season likely resulted in that.
Dead City season 3 needs to premiere next year to maintain audience interest (but it's not looking likely)
The Walking Dead franchise does not have the same levels of visibility that it did when the original show was airing. Therefore, it needs to keep people engaged when it is releasing new episodes. Daryl Dixon has mastered that by evolving into an annual show in an era where too many larger-than-life streaming / cable shows take years to release new seasons. Fans know that Daryl and Carol's story is continuing via their annual 6 - 8 episode seasons, but given all of the TWD content that has aired between Dead City's two seasons, you might have been forgiven for not realizing that the second season of that show was even airing.
AMC was still clearly happy with the series as it has been renewed for a third season. There isn't any indication of whether it's the final season or not, so there is a chance that it could carry on beyond that, but regardless of whether it does or doesn't, it's so important that there isn't another multi-year wait for season 3 to premiere. Unfortunately, it's looking like there might be. While Daryl Dixon is currently filming its final season (which is now expected next fall), Dead City's third season is reportedly set to begin production this fall, meaning that it likely wouldn't be hitting screens until early - mid 2027 at the very earliest. If that's the case, we would be approaching the two-year mark once again. And, as much as fans hate to admit it, the show doesn't have the momentum to justify that long of a wait.
On the other end of things, the show still has a devoted fanbase and that's the audience that AMC needs to capitalize on. The same audience who remarked that the two-year wait for season 2 was too long and are now hoping that they won't have to wait as long for season 3. In spite of the TWD Universe's long time on our screens, there are clearly a lot of incredibly devoted fans of the franchise still tuning into its new adventures. Dead City season 1's ratings (along with the ratings of Daryl Dixon and The Ones Who Live) are obvious indicators of that. So it goes without saying that it's important to keep striking when the iron is hot.
For that reason, AMC must find a way to ensure that Dead City season 3 comes out next year, allowing the show a chance to at least try the annual release format. Not only would it benefit the series itself to give the fans more TWD content to consume next year, it would keep audiences invested without running the risk of having them forget what happened in the previous season (or even that the show is still running).
We don't know how many more years the TWD Universe will run for (Daryl Dixon is coming to an end next year, potentially leaving Dead City as the only ongoing show in this franchise), so we want to make sure that every single spinoff gets the spotlight that it deserves. Although Dead City season 2 aired a little bit too late, AMC has a chance to right that wrong by taking a page out of Daryl Dixon's book and evolving the show into an annually-released series. If it doesn't, it could suffer another ratings drop, which put the future of it - and the whole TWD franchise if it's the last show in that universe still on the air - in jeopardy.
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