AMC announces The Walking Dead universe's 2021 release dates. The long-delayed Walking Dead season 10 finale aired on AMC in October after its premiere was delayed back in April due to the coronavirus pandemic. Episode 16 was intended to air a week after episode 15, but production was brought to a halt, and AMC decided to expand season 10 with six additional episodes that will air in 2021 ahead of the 11th and final season.
The long-running post-apocalyptic series has shocked fans with cliffhangers and fan-favorite character deaths since its debut nearly ten years ago. Though its ratings have dwindled in the last couple of seasons, the series has remained a top program for AMC. Its popularity has led to an after-show talk show Talking Dead, two spinoff series, Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond, as well as its upcoming Daryl and Carol spinoff and anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead. The Walking Dead universe will continue to expand with the upcoming Rick Grimes movies that are expected to end Rick's story properly after his disappearance in Walking Dead season 9. Fear the Walking Dead began in 2015 and is currently in the middle of its sixth season. The second spinoff series, World Beyond is set ten years after the zombie apocalypse outbreak and follows a group of teenage survivors. The series premiered in October and was announced to only consist of two seasons, with season 1 concluding back in November. While the global pandemic complicated The Walking Dead universe's 2020 release schedule, AMC promises a full slate for 2021.
In a promotional video on Twitter, AMC announces the new release schedule for The Walking Dead universe for 2021. The video, which reads "New Year, new you, new TWDU," celebrates the new year with the release dates and windows of each show. The video reveals that The Walking Dead season 10 will return with its bonus episodes on February 28 followed by Talking Dead the same day, Fear the Walking Dead returns with season 6 in spring of 2021 and World Beyond's season 2 premieres sometime in 2021, Meanwhile, The Walking Dead season 11 and Fear season 7 premieres in late 2021. You can watch the video below:
Back in the fall, the network announced more details about the six "bridge" episodes of season 10 that will lead into the final season. Starting February 28 on AMC and its streaming platform AMC+, the episodes will show the survivors dealing with the aftermath of the Whisperers war, as well as a flashback to Daryl's time after Rick's disappearance during the six-year time jump.
With The Walking Dead and World Beyond ending this year, fans are soon going to see the fate of many favorite characters resolved. While there may still be room for some familiar faces to return in the future of the universe, all shows must come to an end at some point. While 2020 certainly got in the way of production schedules and release dates of many shows, it sounds like 2021 has a lot in store for Walking Dead fans.
Source: The Walking Dead on AMC/Twitter