The Walking Dead franchise is no stranger to making history. After all, you're talking about a TV saga that has been on the air across seven shows for the guts of 20 years. That alone is pretty history-making, and it's no surprise that, even all these years later, the TWD Universe remains the crown jewel of AMC's programming. Even in a streaming-dominated age where the story of this world is showing age, that likely won't be changing anytime soon.
Recent history that the franchise has made has included launching multiple spinoffs since The Walking Dead itself ended, allowing the story of multiple fan-favorite characters to continue beyond the series finale. And yet, a new development - or, well, lack thereof - has made the wrong kind of history, which doesn't bode well for the franchise's immediate future.
Dead City is now the longest a Walking Dead show has ever spent in limbo
Is The Walking Dead: Dead City season 4 happening? It's the question that fans have been asking since the third season of the TWD Universe spinoff concluded this summer and, frustratingly, the answer is still the same: We don't know. What we do know, however, is that AMC has made history by not announcing a renewal of the show (as of yet).
No decision has been made on the fate of Dead City and this is how things still stand two months after season 3 came to an end. As a result, that officially makes this the longest that any Walking Dead show has ever gone without a renewal - something that doesn't bode well for the spinoff's future. To put that in perspective, here's a shocking statistic for you: Aside from Tales of the Walking Dead, almost no Walking Dead show has ever found itself in limbo for a single day, much less 50+.
During the peak of the franchise, both the original series and the very first spinoff Fear The Walking Dead earned early renewals, meaning that, by the time their respective seasons came to an end, the next one had already been greenlit. Young adult offshoot World Beyond was automatically greenlit as a two-season miniseries, so it also never had to worry about renewals. And then there were the three new ones.
Daryl Dixon and Dead City earned second season renewals pretty early on, with the announcement coming just a few days before the latter's first season completed. Meanwhile, Rick and Michonne-led offshoot The Ones Who Live was intentionally designed to be a miniseries (even if we, the audience, didn't know it at the time). Daryl Dixon was then subsequently renewed ahead of its then-current seasons throughout its entire run to allow for the extensive filming in European locations (which often resulted in seasons being filmed back-to-back).
That brings us to Dead City season 3, which was greenlit 24 days after the season 2 finale aired on AMC and AMC+. That means that Dead City already held the record for the longest limbo period - at least when it comes to the main characters' shows - but it did ultimately end with a renewal. It's been twice as long as that (and then some) since the third season's conclusion and there has been no definitive evidence that it will be renewed. In fact, there is some evidence to suggest the opposite.
Since Dead City season 3 aired, two of its main stars have since signed onto new projects. Lauren Cohan, who has played Maggie Rhee in the TWD Universe since the second season of The Walking Dead itself, recently joined Prime Video's Stillwater while Logan Kim - who plays Maggie and Glenn's son Hershel - is set to star in Netflix series Pagans (ironically, alongside Steven Yeun who portrayed his father Glenn on The Walking Dead). And Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Negan himself, already has another major role in Prime Video's Sterling Point, which was recently renewed for a second season.
Now, again, it's very important to add that AMC has not cancelled Dead City yet. The franchise's chief content officer Scott M. GImple is hopeful that it will continue for at least one more season, telling fans that season 3 wasn't designed as the final season. And it certainly leaves the door open for a potential return to New York City now that Maggie and Negan have established this new chapter in the city's legacy. Fans are simply concerned about the fact that a studio that once never waited to renew its most popular franchise for more seasons is now setting the wrong kinds of records when it comes to Dead City and a potential season 4.
We're rooting for you Dead City. After season 3 served as a complete rebirth for the show, it deserves at least one more season to flesh out the new tone, concept, and storyline, while also allowing the series to end on its own terms.
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