The Walking Dead: So, Should We Get Our Hopes Up About January 7th?
· BCPosted in: AMC, TV | Tagged: The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead: So, Should We Get Our Hopes Up About January 7th?
After NYCC left us feeling less than inspired about the future of The Walking Dead Universe, could there be some good news on January 7th?
Published Sun, 18 Oct 2026 19:08:10 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary
- The Walking Dead Universe got a major boost with AMC and Netflix’s new five-year streaming deal starting in 2027.
- The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3 revived franchise buzz, with Seth Hoffman bringing back the original series feel.
- The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 4 looks huge, with Jimmy Smits and a U.S. military storyline raising the stakes.
- After a muted NYCC, January 7 could be The Walking Dead’s best shot at big AMC+ news and a clearer franchise future.
It's not like fans of "The Walking Dead " Universe didn't have a lot to be excited about heading into New York Comic Con (NYCC) earlier this month. Earlier this year, we learned that AMC Global Media and Netflix had struck a new five-year, $500 million licensing deal that will see the entire TWD Universe streaming on both Netflix and AMC+, beginning in 2027. That means that Netflix gets co-exclusive rights to stream the original series and spinoffs Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, The Walking Dead: Dead City, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and Tales of The Walking Dead. In return, AMC Global Media will be able to stream the original series for the first time ever, after Netflix held the U.S. streaming rights exclusively since 2011.
On-screen, things looked equally promising. The third season of Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan-starring The Walking Dead: Dead City not only re-energized the spinoff but also the entire franchise, with Showrunner Seth Hoffman bringing back the vibe of the original series while carving out interesting storylines for the franchise's future. The stadium screening that was held during San Diego Comic-Con (DCC) felt like a return to the golden years of the franchise's convention seasons. Meanwhile, fans were also being treated to some early looks at the fourth and final season of Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride-starring The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, which looks to be a game-changer – especially with the addition of Jimmy Smits' Captain Alejandro Perkins and the introduction of the U.S. military into the mix.
And then NYCC hit, and everything felt kinda… sad. Reedus and McBride kicking off the promotional machine for the February 2027-debuting final run was a bittersweet experience, to say the least – but we were expecting that. We were also expecting a bit more clarity from TWD CCO Scott M. Gimple on where the franchise is headed from here. That we didn't get, aside from more of the general reassurances that there are more stories to tell within the TWD Universe. I'm not saying that I needed specific projects announced. But if you can drop a 30-second teaser for a trio of "The Walking Dead" films, something like three years before they ended up becoming "The Ones Who Live," it's not asking for a bit more hope. With no official decision on a possible fourth season of "Dead City" yet, we're looking at the possibility that there won't be a single "The Walking Dead" series in development by the end of April or the beginning of May. The reality is that there may not be a TWD show in production to promote at next year's NYCC, and that's kinda sad.
But if there was ever a time to have some hope, and if there was ever a day to invest that hope in, it's January 7th, 2027. That's the day when "The Walking Dead" Universe heads home to AMC+. If there was ever a time for AMC Global Media to embrace the franchise's past while laying out a road map for its future, it would be that day. Could we see some individually produced projects co-produced by AMC Global Media and Netflix? That seemed to work quite nicely for Vince Gilligan's "Breaking Bad" universe spinoff film El Camino: A "Breaking Bad" Movie. But if we had to go all-in, it would have to be for a proper 16-episode (minimum) restart of The Walking Dead, bringing back the OG players for a massive reunion storyline that sets the stage for the ongoing series – a blend of new and returning characters, and focused on a number of communities/storylines. But for now, we'll simply take some promising news that the wait will be worth it – and January 7th feels like a perfect day for that.
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