Another spinoff of The Walking Dead is on the horizon. This time, Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes is getting a solo series as The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live prepares to drop soon.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is the latest spinoff in the ever-expanding The Walking Dead franchise. The original series follows a group of survivors as they navigate a world decimated by a zombie apocalypse. While the survivors face the threat of “walkers,” they also find that fellow human survivors are often more dangerous than the zombies. Grimes, a former sheriff who becomes the leader of a small group of survivors, was the series protagonist for the majority of its run. However, he departed the show in season 9, and details on his whereabouts or survival were vague.
Although The Walking Dead concluded last year after 11 seasons, viewers have continued to enjoy the franchise through the spinoffs The Walking Dead: Dead City and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. The shows have brought back fan favorites like Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan), and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). However, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is the first spinoff to bring the man who started it all back to the forefront. Here’s what we know about the Grimes spinoff so far.
AMC drops a sneak peak of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
AMC has announced that The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will premiere on February 25, 2024. It does not yet have an official trailer, but the release date announcement came with a brief sneak peek featuring Lincoln and Danai Gurira teasing what’s to come.
Gurira, who portrays Michonne, teases that “it’s a really exciting story to tell,” while Lincoln stated that the hope is to provide viewers with answers about what happened to Grimes and where he has been. It seems the series will also focus on Michonne and Grimes’ love story, which Gurira described as “some crazy love.” Their comments are paired with a few action-packed snippets of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. Viewers see Grimes and Michonne fighting walkers and facing threats from humans, including a notorious general.
What to expect from The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
As mentioned above, Lincoln and Gurira will lead The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live as Michonne and Grimes. In The Walking Dead, Michonne and Grimes met as fellow survivors and grew close due to their similar experiences of trauma and loss. Their friendship soon turned into a relationship. But then Grimes disappeared and was assumed dead. It isn’t until several years after his disappearance that Michonne learns he might be alive and sets out to find him.
One familiar member of the Civic Republic Military is also returning. Viewers will recall that the CRM is a military organization in The Walking Dead that abducted Grimes before his disappearance. Pollyanna McIntosh is reprising her The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond role as CRM officer Jadis Stokes for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. Meanwhile, the major general of the CRM is making his debut as Terry O’Quinn has signed on to portray Major General Beale.
Beale was previously referenced and heard speaking once in The Walking Dead: World Beyond. He’s the general responsible for much of the CRM’s horrific acts and is believed to have killed hundreds of thousands of people. It appears he’ll be the main villain of the new spinoff. Lesley-Ann Brandt and Matthew August Jeffers have also joined the cast as Pearl Thorne and Nat, respectively. Frankie Quinones has also been cast in an undisclosed role.
Not many plot details from The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live have been released. However, it seems like it may play out a bit like a love story as Grimes and Michonne attempt to find each other after years of separation. Based on Gurira’s comments and the sneak peek, it seems there’s nothing they won’t do to be reunited. Meanwhile, the CRM is anticipated to pose the biggest threat to their reunion. Hopefully, the show will answer just what the CRM wants with Grimes, and delve deeper into its motivation and why it has been destroying communities along the way. So far, it feels like The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live isn’t a spinoff based solely on nostalgia or fan service, but one that could answer some of the most pressing questions viewers have about Grimes, Michonne, and the CRM.
(featured image: AMC)
