We've went on an emotional rollercoaster with AMC's Walking Dead franchise over the years. Watching episodes of The Walking Dead itself during its peak years was an edge-of-seat experience that always left you feeling rather uncomfortable - even if everybody survived by the time that the credits rolled. But the stakes were so high on the series that you just didn't know who was going to live in the world of the zombie apocalypse.
Longtime viewers still feel like that watching spinoffs The Walking Dead: Dead City and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon as the franchise continues to amaze today. While it's not as edge-of-seat in terms of fan-favorite characters potentially dying (due to each of the spinoffs having a pretty small cast), it still feels every bit as larger than life watching adventures from the TWD Universe take place on our screens.
To add a touch of nostalgia, one spinoff is bringing back a fan-favorite character from the original series in just a matter of weeks - and we can't wait to see them return. Before we carry on, however, we should warn you that there will be potential SPOILERS from Dead City season 3 ahead.
Beth Greene returns in Dead City season 3 this summer
AMC has officially confirmed that The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 will premiere on Sunday, July 26, meaning that it's only a matter of days until we get to return to the TWD Universe. The spinoff focuses on Maggie Rhee and Negan as the pair look to put their long-standing feud aside to rebuild Manhattan from the ground up. It will be easier said than done, but together, the unlikely pair might be able to pull it off.
Dead City's new showrunner Seth Hoffman has teased that the series will feature a more optimistic and hopeful tone this time around, which has fans intrigued for what is about to come. However, those of us who have been keeping up with the world of The Walking Dead online will know that season 3 also features a major surprise - one that is sure to send viewers into meltdown when they see it. And we don't have long to go until that happens!
Earlier this year, set photos confirmed that Walking Dead legend Emily Kinney will be reprising her role as Beth Greene in Dead City season 3 in what initially appeared to be a dream-like sequence that would see her interact with Lauren Cohan's Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan. Now, it has been confirmed that it will be an alternate reality episode instead, reimagining what life would have been like if Beth hadn't died and the world hadn't devolved into a Walkerpocalypse.
Although AMC has yet to officially acknowledge Kinney's return to the franchise, the alt-reality episode has been confirmed while Hoffman himself teased some unexpected returns in the third season. This does appear to back up those set photos, which featured Beth speaking to Maggie and Negan in a festive, non-walker-infested Central Park. And you can rest assured that this will be a major talking point of the season when it does come to fruition on our screens.
Beth was a staple of The Walking Dead from its second through fifth seasons. The sister of Maggie and daughter of Hershel, she developed a close bond with Daryl Dixon whenever they got separated from everyone else after the Governor's attack on the prison in season 4. She eventually ended up being taken prisoner in the Grady Memorial Hospital under the leadership of Officer Dawn Lerner. This ultimately led to her death in what was undoubtedly one of the show's most controversial moments, as Beth's decision to attack Dawn resulted in her reactively pulling the trigger of her gun - seemingly killing her by accident. Daryl then killed Dawn instantly.
While easily one of the most shocking, heartbreaking moments in the TWD Universe's long history, it also became something of a controversial moment outside of the show. AMC's official Walking Dead Facebook page posted a photo of Daryl carrying Beth with the caption "RIP Beth" immediately after the East Coast airing of the episode, spoiling the episode for both the West Coast viewers who had yet to watch and every single TWD fan around the world who had liked that page. The page pulled the image and issued an apology in response.
Who would have thought that 12 years later Beth would return to screens in The Walking Dead: Dead City?! Although it's not the resurrection that TWD fans initially spent a long period of time asking for back in 2014 and 2015, it will be surreal - and very, very welcome - to see Emily Kinney back on our screens as the beloved character in 2026. Not long to go now!
The Walking Dead: Dead City airs on AMC and streams on AMC+ on Sunday, July 26. The alternate reality episode is expected to take place later into the season.
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