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With the continued expansion of The Walking Dead universe, there have been questions about whether you need to watch the other shows in the franchise before the spinoffs.
The Walking Dead: Dead City has taken viewers to New York City with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and there is a lot of connective tissue to the original series.
For Norman Reedus’ The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, the intent is to make the series accessible for everyone.
“This is probably the closest to a standalone show you will ever get,” Greg Nicotero explained to Entertainment Weekly.
“The goal isn’t just to see Daryl in exotic and new locations, but to explore a wholly different world.”
“This is definitely not more of the same. Our show introduces new characters, new themes, and is an exciting extension of the genre that will delight people who love this kind of storytelling and crave more,” Nicotero continued.
The big change for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is that it will take viewers to Paris to tell a tale about surviving the zombie apocalypse in France.
The latest spinoff in the expansive TWD universe picks up with Daryl as he “washes ashore in France and struggles to piece together how he got there and why,” the network’s official description teases.
“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.”
The news that the show is standalone might not be what fans want to hear because many expected it to tie into the mysteries set up in the other shows in the franchise.
For starters, The Walking Dead: World Beyond had a Paris-set epilogue that seemingly hinted at stories to be told there.
And then, Daryl left the Commonwealth on The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 24, which should have set up his search for Rick Grimes.
TWD: Daryl Dixon also stars Clémence Poésy as Isabelle, part of a progressive religious group.
Additional cast includes Anne Charrier (The Last Deadly Mission) as Genet, Eriq Ebanouey (Fox Hunt) as Fallou, Laika Blanc Francard (My Night) as Sylvie, Romain Levi (The Tunnel) as Codron, and Louis Puech Scigliuzzi as Laurent.
What are your thoughts on the show sidestepping the other shows?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
