The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, or simply Daryl Dixon, is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series created by Scott Gimple and David Zabel for AMC, based on The Walking Dead character of the same name. It is the fifth spin-off and overall sixth television series in The Walking Dead television universe, sharing continuity with the other series and set after the conclusion of the original The Walking Dead television series.

In Daryl Dixon, Norman Reedus reprises his role as Daryl Dixon from the original The Walking Dead series. Reedus stars alongside Clémence Poésy, Louis Puech Scigliuzzi, Laïka Blanc-Francard, Anne Charrier, Romain Levi, Adam Nagaitis and Joel de la Fuente, all of whom portray new characters. Development of the series began in September 2020, and its title was announced in October 2022. Filming began in Paris that month, with additional casting taking place starting in November. The first season was planned to feature the character Carol Peletier under the series title The Walking Dead: Daryl & Carol, but Carol was written out of the series due to logistical issues involving actress Melissa McBride.

The first season premiered on September 10, 2023, and consists of six episodes. In July 2023, the series was renewed for a second season. Titled The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol, the second season features McBride as a series regular in a return to the show's original concept. The second season premiered on September 29, 2024. In July 2024, the series was renewed for a third season.

Premise[]

Daryl washes ashore in France (the origin of the zombie virus^[1]) and struggles to piece together how he got there and why. The series tracks his journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home. As he makes the journey, though, the connections he forms along the way complicate his ultimate plan.

Series Overview[]

Episodes[]

As of September 29, 2024, 7 episodes of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon have aired.

Title Screen[]

Main article: Title Screens (Daryl Series)

Cast and Characters[]

Production[]

Development[]

The series was announced in September 2020 by Angela Kang and Scott Gimple. Reedus and McBride signed on to reprise their respective roles from the television series.^[5]

In April 2022, McBride exited the series due to logistical reasons as the show was set to film in mid-2022 in Europe and it wasn't possible for McBride to be with the show with this setup. The series was reworked as a sole Daryl project.^[6] Days later, Kang had left the role of showrunner and was replaced by David Zabel. The deal had reportedly been sealed in recent weeks before McBride's exit from the show.^[7] In October, the series was given the title Daryl Dixon.^[8] In January 2023, it was announced that the series would be titled The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon and premiere later in 2023.^[9]

In July 2023, ahead of the first season's release, the series was renewed for a second season.^[10] The second season has the subtitle of The Book of Carol.^[4] A third season was in development by February 2024.^[11][12] In July 2024, the series was renewed for a third season. Unlike the first two seasons, it will be produced and set in Spain.^[13]

Writing[]

In September 2020, Kang was hired as showrunner after she had helmed the final three seasons of The Walking Dead.^[5]

In April 2022, Kang stepped down due to other commitments and Zabel took the role. Scripts were already being written by this time but needed to be reworked following McBride's departure.^[6] In September, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Reedus explained that the series would be going an opposite direction from the main series having it being a completely different story from what we have already seen with Daryl.^[2] The following month, Reedus said that there would be familiar faces from the main series in the spin-off.^[14]

Casting[]

In November 2022, Clémence Poésy and Adam Nagaitis were added to the main cast.^[3] In February 2023, Anne Charrier, Eriq Ebouaney, Laïka Blanc-Francard, Romain Levi and Louis Puech Scigliuzzi were announced as additional cast members.^[15] In June 2023, The Walking Dead alum Jeffrey Dean Morgan indicated in a tweet that Melissa McBride would reprise her role as Carol Peletier in some capacity.^[16] In October 2023, at New York Comic Con, McBride was confirmed to return for the second season, as well as guest starring in the first season finale.^[4]

In November 2023, Manish Dayal was confirmed to recur in the second season.^[17]

Filming[]

Principal photography began on October 24, 2022, in Paris, France.^[18] Filming for the second season continued during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike due to an agreement between AMC and SAG-AFTRA to resume production.^[19] Filming for the second season wrapped on December 21, 2023.^[20] Filming for the third season began in August 2024 in Madrid, Spain.^[21]

Release[]

The series premiered on September 10, 2023, on AMC and AMC+.^[22] The second season, subtitled The Book of Carol, will premiere in 2024.^[4] The first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 13, 2024.^[23] The second season, subtitled The Book of Carol, premiered on September 29, 2024.^[24][25]

Reception[]

Critical Reception[]

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon has received positive reviews from critics, with several calling it the best Walking Dead content in years, although some noted its similarities to The Last of Us television series.^[26] On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 70% based on 40 reviews with an average rating of 8.15/10. The website's critics consensus is, "Centering Norman Reedus' fan favorite character in a fresh setting, Daryl Dixon can be a wobbly shot across the crossbow but still gives The Walking Dead faithful plenty more to chew on."^[27] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, scored the first season 67 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[28]

David Opie of Digital Spy gave it a 4/5 rating and called it "The best Walking Dead has been in ages".^[29] Chase Hutchinson of Collider gave it a "B" rating and applauded Norman Reedus' "stoic performance" that has a "renewed energy to the character and making the spin-off worth watching" and that the series "focuses more on character and emotion rather than empty spectacle, giving the story a greater sense of depth."^[30] Aaron Pruner of TheWrap gave it a positive review and noted Clémence Poésy's "standout performance" and concluded that it "is a surprisingly gorgeous, soul-stirring, and riveting watch. Norman Reedus said they were making art with this show. And you know what? He wasn't lying."^[31]

For the second season, 88% of 8 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes were positive, with an average score of 6.6/10.^[32] Of 5 Metacritic critic reviews, 3 were positive, two were mixed, and none were negative; their average score was 62/100.^[33]

Promotional Material[]

Images[]

Teaser poster

Release Date

Season 1 poster

Season 1 poster

Season 1 poster Wide

Alternate Season 1 poster

Season 2 poster

Season 2 poster

Season 2 poster

Videos[]

In Production teaser

Teaser

Character teaser - Isabelle, Daryl & Laurent

Character teaser - Sylvie, Fallou, Isabelle & Daryl

Character teaser - Daryl & Stéphane

Trivia[]

• It is the fifth spin-off series of The Walking Dead television series, after Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Tales of the Walking Dead, and The Walking Dead: Dead City.
  • It is the second direct sequel to the television series, after Dead City and followed by The Ones Who Live.
• This is the first show in the television universe to be set outside of North America.
  • It is the third The Walking Dead media to take place outside of North America, the first being The Walking Dead: The Alien and the second being The Walking Dead: Typhoon.
  • It is also the first show to take place in Europe.
    • The only time Europe was seen before this was in a scene set in France in "The Last Light", which is the same country the series will take place in.
• The location of the series indicates that Daryl will be interacting with la Biomédicine DDMI, the origins of the Wildfire Virus, and the variant infection.^[34]
  • Interestingly enough, the Primrose Team of la Biomédicine DDMI's last known whereabouts were reportedly Toledo, Ohio, which is the same state Daryl is last seen in "Rest in Peace".
  • The official trailer contains Daryl jumping off a ship to avoid a running zombie that made it onboard, confirming that Daryl will be dealing with the French variant cohorts capable of running.
• Sun Journal has revealed that producers of the series have requested two front pages of their newspaper, namely those of March 12 and April 19, 2010, to be used in the show. The scene in which they appear takes place in Maine, in the year 2012 and involves an abandoned car.^[35]
  • The Wildfire Virus was declared by the Center for Disease Control in the United States of America on April 15, 2010.
  • A French community, Madawaska, featured in the episode "Davon" of Tales of the Walking Dead, is located in Maine and could have a relation to the show, and could potentially have a connection to the PPP card also seen in the episode "Swear" of The Walking Dead.

References[]