The Walking Dead fans, rejoice: we're finally going to have the Carol/Daryl spinoff that was promised.
At New York Comic Con today, it was announced that Melissa McBride will officially be a series regular as Carol in the second season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, alongside Norman Reedus. In fact, it'll even be called The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - The Book of Carol when it premieres sometime in 2024.
“I’ve known there was much more to be told of Carol’s story as I felt her so unsettled when we last saw her, as she watched her best friend, Daryl, ride away," McBride said in a statement along with the announcement. "Apart or (hopefully!) together, their stories run deep, and I’m so excited to continue Carol’s journey here. This team of storytellers have done amazing work to land these two established characters in an entirely new world to them, and I’m loving the discoveries!”
The spinoff series follows Daryl after he finds himself in France and tries to figure out how he got there and how to make his way home. It was originally intended to focus on the fan-favorite duo of Carol and Daryl, but it was later pivoted to solely focus on Daryl after after McBride couldn't relocate to Europe for filming. It's not yet clear where Carol will show up or if she'll be in France with Daryl, but after a brief, voice-only cameo during the most recent episode, today's announcement marks her official return to the show.
The finale of Season 1 is set to air this Sunday on AMC and AMC+. We gave Season 1 a 7 in our review, calling it "the best thing the franchise has done in years." Daryl Dixon was renewed for a second season before it even premiered, and it's one of three Walking Dead spinoffs currently in the works at AMC. Another one, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live also had some news out of NYCC today.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
