When you think of zombie TV shows, it's hard not to make a comparison to The Walking Dead. Yes, it sounds redundant due to the sheer visibility that the series has had throughout its 12-year run but that's exactly why the comparison is made. Despite the popularity of the zombie genre, the rises of shows like The Last of Us, World War Z, or any other, it's always going to be the original TWD show that is at the top of the zombie mountain.
The zombie landscape has changed over the course of the past few years, with newcomers like Marvel Zombies and the TWD Universe spinoffs making the presence felt. As the genre finds its way back to the big screen, it's still very much dominated by The Walking Dead on the small screen, but there are the occasional new projects that surface. And one of them - perhaps even more unhinged than the original Walking Dead series - is officially a go.
Afterlife With Archie officially greenlit at Disney Plus
The zombie genre just got a whole lot crazier. Afterlife With Archie has been officially greenlit at Disney Plus, with the creative team behind previous Archie series, Riverdale, set to bring it to life. Yes that means that Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa reteams with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Leigh London Redman of Berlanti Productions to bring the vivid series to life.
Afterlife With Archie is based on the eponymous Archie Comics storyline of the same name and it reimagines the world of Riverdale after it has been overrun with a zombie apocalypse - which will force Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and other fan-favorite Archie characters to fight back and survive the horde of 'walkers'. How does this happen? Well, beyond the fact that the previous TV adaptation proved that literally anything can happen in Riverdale, the official description implies that it's all down to a spell gone wrong from a certain teen witch. So, yes, Sabrina Spellman may well be a character in this show as well.
So, why might Afterlife With Archie be even more unhinged than The Walking Dead? Well, have you watched Riverdale?! Yes, yes, I know that this isn't a sequel series to that particular TV show (and it's likely set in a parallel universe given that, again, literally anything can happen in Riverdale), but it does involve the same creative team as The CW series. That is both exciting and terrifying all at the same time.
Riverdale aired on The CW for seven seasons between 2017 and 2023, but it developed an international, worldwide audience due to it finding a second home on Netflix. This - and the kooky storylines - helped the cast and crew develop a massive audience over the years and it reinvigorated interest in the Archie Comics franchise as a result of that. It's understandable that all involved would like to find that lightning in a bottle a second time around.
Although Riverdale started as a teen drama / murder mystery, it evolved pretty radically over the years, dealing with mobster storylines, prison storylines, ancient cults, organ-harvesting modern cults, sorority conspiracies, more murder mysteries, time jumps and, eventually, super powers, alternate realities, witchcraft, and time travel. Can you imagine what this creative team is going to do with zombies?!
Now, don't get us wrong: It's going to be hard to unseat The Walking Dead as the undisputed champion of the zombie genre, and we're not saying that Afterlife With Archie will do that, but when it comes to the most ridiculous, off-the-wall, and yes, unhinged zombie TV show imaginable: Afterlife With Archie may well be about to take that crown.
It's actually crazy that, in its seven-season run, Riverdale never did a zombie apocalypse because it's absolutely something that Riverdale would have done. It's especially interesting when you consider that Aguirre-Sacasa originally considered pitching Riverdale as an Afterlife With Archie adaptation before they decided to go with the project that The CW ultimately greenlit. Now, they get to scratch that itch all these years later. And, to be quite honest, we're not ready for the results (and absolutely ready for them at the same time!).
Afterlife With Archie is expected to arrive on Disney Plus in fall 2027.
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