AMC continues to expand The Walking Dead universe by renewing the direct spinoffs. Dead City was recently renewed for a third season, and Daryl Dixon, whose third season premieres in fall 2025, has been renewed for a fourth and final season. Both of these series are set in new locations, giving creators the opportunity to feature fresh ideas.
Walking Dead director and SFX guru Greg Nicotero was recently interviewed by Comicbook.com and discussed walkers, specifically the ones featured in Daryl Dixon. This series has given viewers a look at how other countries have fared since the outbreak, as well as a variety of variant walkers, a trend that will continue in the upcoming season.
The unique aspect of the Daryl Dixon series is that, since it takes place away from the United States, the story can show how different countries have survived since the outbreak. This also gives more freedom to experiment with the variant walkers and gives viewers something truly unique.
"One thing that Daryl does that the other shows don’t do is they approach the zombies in a very different way."
In episode 101 of Daryl Dixon, the title character, portrayed by Norman Reedus, encountered lurker walkers who were also burners. Lurkers, walkers who remain still until activated by noise, have been seen in the main series and Dead City season 2, but the flesh-searing and acidic blood of the burners is something brand new. He is later informed by Isabelle (Clémence Poésy) that the burners are only one kind of walker in France.
Season 1 also features the Conductor (Éric Frey), one of Isabelle's contacts in Paris, who created an orchestra made up of mutilated walkers who are attached to various instruments. Several times, walkers were seen injected with the Amper Serum, giving them super strength and speed. In the final episode of season 2, bioluminescent lurkers are seen in the Chunnel.
Nicotero shared his excitement about featuring unique "non-zombie" characters during season 3, where Daryl and Carol (Melissa McBride) will make their way to Spain. There, they encounter "a bunch of new groups of people." One group is reminiscent of the main series Whispers, who look like the undead but are, in fact, very much alive. The group is a leper colony whose appearance may fool someone at first, but when they speak, it is evident they are human.
"In this season, we have a bit where zombies are being used as marionettes that are portraying a sort of old world Spanish culture. They’re still scary in many elements, because zombies always have to be scary. But we also have an opportunity to see how other cultures relate to them.”
Season 3 will feature Daryl and Carol as they arrive in England and then move on to Spain, where the majority of the season takes place. Similar to how Daryl arrived in France, the duo will find themselves shipwrecked in Spain and journey to Solaz del Mar. The official trailer for the season gives fans a look at what's to come.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon returns to AMC and AMC+ beginning September 7.
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