The Walking Dead: Norman Reedus talks about the Carol and Daryl spinoff

Norman Reedus reveals how the Carol and Daryl The Walking Dead spinoff came to be, and other background tidbits about the show in a recent interview.

Some of The Walking Dead fans, especially the Caryl shippers, will remember that in The Walking Dead season 10 premiere Carol and Daryl had several significant moments and mentioned leaving together, possibly to head out West.  And according to star Norman Reedus, that was intentional.

In a recent appearance on EW Live, Reedus talked about the upcoming Daryl and Carol spinoff and the decision to conclude the original The Walking Dead series.

No one was really prepared for the news that dropped a few months ago that the original The Walking Dead would end after season 11, including the cast. Reedus said that throughout the planning of the spinoff he assumed that Carol and Daryl would go off on their adventures but return to check in with the existing communities once in and awhile. He said:

"“I didn’t know the flagship show would end. The whole thing was we would take off and we’d come back and check in and we would take off. So I didn’t know that was going to happen. And to be honest, I was hoping that would never happen because, you know, that’s the mothership.I’m scared to leave the mothership. That’s scary new ground. I mean, I’m excited for the spin-off and I’m excited for the type of show it will be, but I didn’t see that coming that. That kind of came out of nowhere.”"

But now that the original show will end before the spinoff begins, the spinoff will need to stand alone, unless there is a time jump that brings Fear The Walking Dead up to the same timeline that Daryl and Carol are on. Currently the Fear The Walking Dead timeline is several years behind TWD’s timeline.

TWD: World Beyond is on the same timeline as TWD, but since that is a limited two-year series that show will end before the Daryl and Carol spinoff begins. Reedus also shared some other interesting tidbits about The Daryl and Carol spinoff:

It’s been in the works for several years

Reedus said that he first broached the idea of Carol and Daryl leaving together back in 2018 when the cast was filming the season 9 finale “The Storm”.

"“Angela and I started talking about it during the episode Greg directed with the snow. I remember that we started talking about it then.I was pitching these ideas, ’cause it was kind of like ‘After eight years really, where do you see this show going?’ And I had an idea and I kind of threw it out there and we talked about it a lot.”"

So the idea was already in the early stages when season 10, and those scenes with Carol and Daryl, started filming. Discussing those scenes in the season 10 premiere, Reedus continues:

"“When I read that in that first episode of that season, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s from the thing we talked about!  We didn’t speak of that area of the world in particular, but I was like, ‘So, this is where that’s coming from.’ I think it sort of set the tone for it, for sure.”"

The pair referenced leaving the others and going off along again in the season 10 finale “A Certain Doom”.

In the aftermath of the Whisperer War and her terrible grief over losing her son in such a brutal way, Carol will have a lot of healing to do, and it might be the case that she and Daryl decide to leave the group rather than join them at the Commonwealth.

There are playlists

When Reedus and co-star Melissa McBride were told that the series was under consideration both of them started making inspirational Spotify playlists that they thought would reflect where their characters were at, and where they would want to go. TWDFamily is definitely going to see to those playlists at some point.

Even though the original The Walking Dead will be ending the 11th and final season will be an extended season that won’t start filming until at least spring of 2021. The Carol and Daryl spinoff isn’t expected to air until at least 2022. Even without the original show, there will still be plenty of content set in The Walking Dead universe.

The Rick Grimes movies are still happening, and another spinoff called Tales of The Walking Dead is also on the way. And there’s also no telling how long Fear The Walking Dead will be around. The current season, the show’s sixth, is the best season yet with fans and critics praising the revamped show. So don’t worry TWD Family, you can stay immersed in the world of The Walking Dead as long as you want to.

Stay tuned to Culturess for the latest on all things The Walking Dead!