In 1 Month, The Walking Dead Is Back To Reclaim Its Zombie Crown

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Published Jun 26, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT

Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones.

You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep."

Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant.

The Walking Dead gave us a zombie TV show that redefined the genre, set in a world where none of the characters had heard of horror TV's terrifying monsters and had to learn the typical rules for defeating one (destroy the brain.) While the Walking Dead zombies were gruesome, terrifying in herds, and featured some standout individuals that stole their episode, the biggest threat in The Walking Dead was always other people. Zombies can get repetitive, but the best antagonists in The Walking Dead made the series into a streaming phenomemon.

That said, The Walking Dead lost its way when the zombies were ignored in favor of uninteresting human battles, which is why Alpha and the Whisperers worked so well while the spoiled and whiny Sebastian Milton's storylines did not. On the other hand, Negan's character arc was one of the best received in the franchise despite the character being central to an episode that made some Walking Dead audiences quit the show. The death of Glenn in the season 7 episode "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" was nightmare fuel, but cemented Negan as the show's best villain.

Negan had all the features of an iconic TV show villain, with a distinctive sense of style, a loud personality, and a backstory that humanized him while also keeping him as an antagonist. However, his redemption arc is one of the best of any TV show character, which is why The Walking Dead: Dead City's premise instantly made it more exciting than any of the other Walking Dead spinoffs. Writing a series around Maggie "The Widow" Rhee and her husband's killer was a bold move, and season 3's anticipated twist could revitalize the franchise.

Dead City Season 3 Can Remind Everyone Why They Love The Walking Dead

Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee in season 6 of The Walking Dead

At its core, the early seasons of The Walking Dead were about finding allies in unlikely places and working with dangerous people in the name of survival. The Walking Dead: Dead City has continued this theme, but the antagonism between Maggie and Negan was threatening to grow stale, no matter how justified Maggie's feelings were. Now, the dynamic between the characters is shifting, which sets up a new era for the show.

This is in part due to Seth Hoffman taking over as showrunner. Hoffman has written fan favorite episodes like "Too Far Gone" and "No Way Out," and reviewers have already praised the previews, comparing it favorably with the original Walking Dead TV show. With Maggie overcoming her grief and desire for revenge, this allows the show to explore more facets of her character. The Walking Dead was an excellent character study, and being turned into one-dimensional characters did not do justice to either Maggie or Negan.

Dead City is also introducing more characters, making the series start to feel like a first season rather than a continuation, and this fresh start offers the opportunity for more creativity, which can only be a good thing for a franchise that has been running for so long. The show has explored different concepts before, with Rick hallucinating Lori in his grief in season 3 and Tyreese communicating with dead characters in season 5, but Dead City's much-discussed "alternate reality" episode takes this to a new level.

The Walking Dead Is Finally Making Maggie & Negan Allies

Maggie looking at Negan in The Walking Dead Dead City season 2

Dead City might have had an exciting premise, but after two seasons of Maggie's rightful anger and promise that Negan would die at her hands, the characters' charisma has worked against the show. If Dead City had lasted just a couple of seasons, Maggie could have got her revenge and wrapped up this chapter. However, the potential for the relationship to evolve into something more akin to allies, if not friends, over time began to feel more plausible, as the revenge storyline was growing repetitive.

Season 3 of The Walking Dead: Dead City is set to premiere on July 26, 2026.

Over the two released seasons of Dead City, the strained relationship between Maggie and Negan looked destined to develop into something more, with some fans terrified that a romance story would be pushed, no matter how unlikely. Negan has been redeemed and The Walking Dead is changing Maggie after 10 years, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) telling Variety, "to see Maggie smile was so nice – haven’t seen it in 10 years!" With more zombies and this storyline, Dead City can return to the survival world, giving The Walking Dead back its status as the best zombie franchise ever made.

Source: Variety