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'The Walking Dead' anthology spin-off is officially a go. It will premiere next summer.

TWD 1106 Daryl Norman Reedus
"TWD" world is about to get a bit larger. Josh Stringer/AMC

  • A new "TWD" spinoff will premiere next summer on AMC and AMC+.
  • "Tales of the Walking Dead" will focus on new and old characters set in the world of "TWD."
  • "TWD" universe veteran Channing Powell will serve as showrunner.
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"Tales of the Walking Dead" is coming to TV next summer.

Tuesday, AMC announced it has greenlit the "TWD" anthology spinoff for a first season of six episodes. Each one-hour standalone episode will focus on new and formerly established characters set in the world of the original "The Walking Dead" series. 

"The Walking Dead" and "Fear TWD" writer and producer Channing Powell will serve as showrunner while working closely with "TWD" universe chief content officer Scott M. Gimple.

"I started as a fan of 'The Walking Dead' and have ended up as a showrunner of what will hopefully be one of its most unique spin-offs," Powell said in a statement.

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"That's nuts and I'm so grateful to AMC and Scott for supporting me and my writers while we pushed, pulled and poked at the boundaries of this universe to bring you something new and unexpected, while hopefully still tending to what core audiences loved so much about the flagship show," Powell added. 

Channing Powell showrunner of Tales of TWD
Channing Powell will serve as showrunner of "Tale of the Walking Dead." Tom McCall, via AMC Networks

The series is expected to go into production early next year and debut on AMC and AMC+ summer of 2022. 

No official premiere date has been announced.

"We see so much potential for a wide range of rich and compelling storytelling in this world, and the episodic anthology format of 'Tales of the Walking Dead' will give us the flexibility to entertain existing fans and also offer an entry point for new viewers, especially on streaming platforms," said Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios, in a statement.

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"We have seen the appeal of this format in television classics like 'The Twilight Zone' and, more recently, 'Black Mirror,' and are excited to engage fans in this new way, against the backdrop of this very unique and engrossing world," McDermott added.

The episodic anthology series from AMC Studios will be the fourth show in the "Walking Dead" universe after "TWD," "Fear TWD," and "TWD: World Beyond."

An untitled "Carol and Daryl" spinoff was also previously announced. Led by "TWD" showrunner Angela Kang, it's set to debut in 2023.

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Daryl and Carol will lead their own "TWD" spinoff after "The Walking Dead" comes to an end next year. Jace Downs/AMC

Who will the anthology show follow?

If the show goes back in time, it's possible to get stories from characters who previously died, including Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), or maybe even long missing characters like Heath (Corey Hawkins), who Gimple has told us he wants to work with again.

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Maybe the show fills in the details about where Maggie was during the six-year time jump after her brief leave of absence from the show.

Ryan Hurst, who played Beta on "TWD," previously told Insider he may or may not have spoken with Gimple about returning for the anthology series.

"I can neither confirm nor deny whether I had a long, long dinner with Scott Gimple, but that's pretty much all that I can say," Hurst told Insider in October 2020.

When a fan on Twitter wondered if we could see more of Pope's group in a flashback-style episode, Jacob Young, who appeared on season 11 of "TWD" as one of Pope's Reapers who was recently gunned down, teased there could be some truth to that.

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"I definitely wouldn't count that possibility out," Young responded.

Gimple previously told Insider in 2020 that his hope is for the show to feature previous characters along with current cast members. At the time, Gimple hinted "Tales" may also continue some stories from the main "TWD" series as a sequel of sorts. 

"For 'Tales of the Walking Dead,' we very much might continue on with characters from the show, the mothership show, intermittently," Gimple told Insider. "We're going to fulfill that big board of stories that we want to tackle. In some ways, it'll be a little differently than perhaps initially planned, but potentially much richer."

You can follow along with our ongoing "TWD" universe coverage here.

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