There’s no denying that The Walking Dead is my favorite TV franchise. It may be well past its prime, but I’ll still watch every new episode of any show in that universe.
The biggest issue I have with the state of The Walking Dead as a whole right now is that the franchise has been kept alive by spinoffs featuring franchise alums.
Honestly, bringing back iconic characters gives them plot armor because the backlash to killing off the likes of Abraham, Carl, and Glenn forced the final seasons into this never-ending cycle where newer characters would be introduced just to be killed off.
The OGs were off limits, and it robbed the latter seasons of the uncertainty that made the show so exciting in its heyday.
Now that Rick and Michonne survived The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Daryl and Carol are still alive on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, and Maggie and Negan are cheersing each other on The Walking Dead: Dead City, it’s clear the post-TWD slate also has a problem with killing off legacy characters.
You know what this franchise needs?
A brand-new show, free from the shackles of any returning characters, that can actually tell stories where the most important characters could die at any moment.
There are fresher stories to be told by putting new characters under this apocalyptic lens.
Of course, the events of the mothership and its many spinoffs could still be spoken about or, at the very least, acknowledged.
But it’s time for a new community to take center stage, and truthfully, a completely new chapter set in a different part of the U.S. — or anywhere else in the world — is probably the best foot forward.
The Walking Dead Needs New Blood
AMC undoubtedly keeps bringing franchise favorites back because familiar faces make these shows easier to market, and while throwbacks are good, it’s time for the veterans to hand the torch over to new blood.
The frustrating thing is that the current spinoffs already introduce plenty of new characters.
The problem is that it’s difficult to become invested in them when the franchise has conditioned us to expect that they’re far more expendable than the characters we’ve been following for over a decade.
When Daryl walks into a new community, are we really supposed to believe he’s in more danger than the people he met five episodes ago?
When Maggie and Negan find themselves facing another seemingly insurmountable threat, does anyone seriously expect one of them to die when their names and faces are what Dead City is being sold on?
That’s the problem with building an entire slate around legacy characters.
The Walking Dead hasn’t stopped killing people. It’s just become increasingly reluctant to kill the people whose deaths would actually make us believe nobody is safe.
That wasn’t always the case.
Some of the franchise’s biggest characters weren’t positioned as its future when they first appeared.
Daryl wasn’t even a character in the comics, while Carol went from being part of the ensemble to one of the most important characters in the entire franchise.
The original series was able to evolve because characters could leave, die, or gradually become more important as the dynamics changed.
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There was always the possibility that the supporting character you barely noticed one season could become one of your favorites a few years later.
That’s what the franchise needs to rediscover.
Give us a completely new group of survivors without Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Carol, Maggie, or Negan standing in the middle of them.
Let us wonder who the real leads are going to be.
Let characters we expect to survive die. Let seemingly minor characters rise through the ranks. Let the dynamics change because somebody the story genuinely depended on didn’t make it home.
Most importantly, give us a reason to become invested in these people without wondering which of them is being lined up as the next sacrificial lamb to remind us that the apocalypse is still dangerous.
The Walking Dead doesn’t need to kill Daryl Dixon or Maggie Rhee simply to prove that it still has teeth.
It needs to prove that this universe can survive without them.
Over to you, The Walking Dead Fanatics! Do you think the franchise needs to move away from alums to tell new and compelling stories?
Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.
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