As AMC's The Walking Dead crosses the finish line of its historic 12-year run, the series has the prominent support of the 15-time Grammy-winning singer Adele.
The power-piped pop phenomenon took the stage on Nov. 18 in Las Vegas at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace, kicking off her headline-making residency. The opening night performance was the culmination of a tumultuous start, in which the singer announced the show's postponement back in January, leaving enthusiastic ticket holders in the lurch. Thus, an emotional Adele shared personal banter onstage, as reported via THR, notably about her gory favorite TV show. "I’ve got a lot to tell you. It’s a bloody massive week for me," she started. "It is the Walking Dead finale on Sunday -- can you believe that? Do we have any Walking Dead fans here? I’ve been obsessed with The Walking Dead for over a decade and on Sunday it is all coming to an end … and obviously it’s opening night and the Grammys and the World Cup."
The Walking Dead launched on AMC back in 2010 on the genre-appropriate date of Oct. 31. As an adaptation of the popular Image Comics title by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Charlie Adlard, the series manifested with a low-commitment 6-episode inaugural season, which exploded in popularity, leading to more substantially sized follow-up seasons. Indeed, the series used its shocking undead imagery and relatable characters to become one of the most popular dramas on cable. The success arguably peaked with Season 5 (2014-2015), after which controversial choices -- and possible audience fatigue -- saw its formerly stratospheric ratings come back down to Earth. Yet, the series still maintains a sizable, still-loyal fandom, which notably includes Adele.
The Walking Dead's Post-Finale Plans
Regardless, the series' popularity -- such as it became -- was reliable enough for AMC to start conjuring spinoff shows, starting with Fear the Walking Dead (2015-present), The Walking Dead: World Beyond (2020-2021) and the anthology offering Tales of the Walking Dead (2022-present). Additionally, characters from the mothership show will move on to their own spinoff adventures, with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) set for the upcoming series The Walking Dead: Dead City and perennial fan favorite Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) serving as the eponymous protagonist of his own series, which will take place in France. Moreover, the show's beloved former central figure, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), is returning to the franchise, joined by fellow alum (and the character's love and baby mama) Michonne (Danai Gurira), for a yet-to-be-titled spinoff series.
Consequently, the creative coalition for The Walking Dead, chief content officer Scott Gimple and showrunner Angela Kang, are aware that the manner in which the main show sticks its landing will bear crucial consequences for the franchise's follow-ups. For Kang, adjusting to such variables required changing the climax of Kirkman's comic. "I think in our storytelling for this, that the story’s going to unfold and unroll, and you know, there’s going to be some twists and turns," she said. "What I hope the audience gets from this is even if they think they know exactly where they think the story’s going, maybe it takes some turns that they’re not expecting."
Of course, with Lincoln's Rick Grimes confirmed for spinoff splendor, the finale is also expected to showcase a context-setting tease for that series. The prospective scene would have to take shape tangentially from the show's storyline coda, during which our intrepid survivors have a climactic clash with the authoritarian forces of the powerful, post-apocalyptic nation-state called the Commonwealth.
The Walking Dead premieres its series finale on AMC on Sunday, Nov. 20.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter