'The Walking Dead' finale sets up an important major franchise test

While The Walking Dead's flagship show has come to an end, future spinoffs of the franchise have a lot to offer, but there are huge risks involved with these plans.

Now that The Walking Dead's flagship series is over, the zombie apocalypse franchise faces a big test with three upcoming spinoffs. Spin-offs aren't new territory for the series, with Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and Legends of The Walking Dead all expanding on AMC's post-apocalyptic universe. But the next wave of spinoffs will cover new territory as they follow The Walking Dead's most beloved characters -- Rick Grimes, Michonne, Daryl Dixon, Negan, and Marie. Ji - Embark on an adventure beyond the walls of Alexandria.

The Walking Dead is not the first show to continue after its flagship show, and has had some high-profile success stories recently. "Game of Thrones" prequel "House of the Dragon" drew crowds, while "Breaking Bad" spinoffs "Better Saul" and "El Camino" received critical acclaim. What's different about The Walking Dead is its ambition. Rather than see how one of the spinoffs is going before more green lights are on, The Walking Dead went all out with three spinoffs focused on the franchise's most famous characters, while rivals' The franchise will be keen to see if that pays off.

The Walking Dead Ending Its Main Show Tests Its Spinoffs More

Previous Walking Dead spinoffs tried to tell replacements Apocalypse stories became major shows, but they were never quite as successful. Fear the Walking Dead, the franchise's longest-running spinoff, averaged nearly 7 million viewers per episode in its first season, but quickly dropped to 700,000 by season six. Viewership was low, but all of The Walking Dead's past spinoffs had the security blanket of the franchise's successful flagship to fall back on. The upcoming The Walking Dead spinoff won't have that luxury.

Interest in adventures outside of Rick Grimes, Michonne, Daryl Dixon and the rest of the core survivors has waned, which is why The Walking Dead's creators are writing about the upcoming spinoff. moving in their direction. Still, it will be a big test to see if The Walking Dead fans will still be interested in and interact with characters outside of the main show. A big part of The Walking Dead's success has been the relationship between the main characters, like Rick Grimes and Daryl, but with them parting ways in the upcoming spinoff, there's no guarantee fans will be as invested as they were before. , so it will test their personal popularity.

Why The Walking Dead's Spinoffs Should All Succeed

Although the spinoffs differentiate the most important characters in The Walking Dead from the rest of the Alexander community, they should all be successful because they focus on the franchise's most important stars. Maggie and Negan's spin-off Dead City has an exciting premise, with former enemies teaming up to explore a New York City that, until now, hasn't been visited on The Walking Dead. In Rick's absence, Darryl Dixon is the show's most popular survivor, and his spinoff is the most intriguing, as the lone wolf will cross the Atlantic to Paris, and the end of the walking dead seems to be tied to This is very different.

By far the most anticipated spinoff is the Rick Grimes and Michonne series. Aside from a brief preview of their whereabouts in the show's finale, the couple was absent from the final season of The Walking Dead. Although The Walking Dead managed to tell a compelling story without them, they were left out. Just having Rick Grimes back on TV would be enough to attract a huge audience, but the compelling setup of making Rick a CRM prisoner has Michonne set to free him so they can finally have a happy ending The most successful spin-off of The Walking Dead.