Tales of the Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama anthology television series created by Scott Gimple and Channing Powell. The fourth television series within The Walking Dead television universe, it is a spin-off to The Walking Dead, which is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard.

Tales of the Walking Dead aired on AMC between August 14 and September 18, 2022. It is set to be followed by a separate series, titled More Tales from the TWDU.

Premise[]

Tales of the Walking Dead is an episodic anthology series that is based on new and existing characters within The Walking Dead universe.^[1]

Series Overview[]

Episodes[]

As of September 18, 2022, 6 episodes of Tales of the Walking Dead have aired.

Title Screen[]

Main article: Title Screens (Tales)

Cast and Characters[]

Production[]

Development[]

In September 2020, AMC announced they and Scott Gimple had been developing an episodic anthology series set within The Walking Dead universe.^[2] In October 2021, AMC officially greenlit a six-episode first season to debut in mid-2022. Channing Powell, who has written for both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, serves as showrunner.^[1][3] In April 2023, it was reported that Gimple would return to oversee anthology series More Tales from the TWDU, though it was unclear if this was a subtitle for a potential second season or a separate show entirely.^[4][5]

Casting[]

In February 2022, it was announced that Anthony Edwards, Parker Posey, Terry Crews, Poppy Liu, and Jillian Bell had been cast in starring roles.^[6][7] Daniella Pineda, Olivia Munn, Danny Ramirez, Loan Chabanol, Embeth Davidtz, Jessie T. Usher and Gage Munroe later joined the cast in undisclosed roles.^[8][9] In April 2022, it was confirmed that Samantha Morton would reprise her role as Alpha in an episode,^[10][11] and that Lauren Glazier and Matt Medrano had joined the cast.^[12]

Filming[]

Filming for the series began in January 2022 in Buford, Georgia, with the first episode directed by Michael Satrazemis; who has directed several episodes of both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead.^[13][14] In February 2022, it was confirmed that Satrazemis would direct three of the six first-season episodes, with the remaining episodes directed by Haifaa al-Mansour, Deborah Kampmeier, and Tara Nicole Weyr (who previously directed for Fear the Walking Dead).^[15][16] Later, it was revealed that Ron Underwood would be directing an episode, replacing Weyr.^[17][18] In April 2022, a crew member suffered an accidental injury on set, briefly suspending production.^[19] Filming for the season wrapped in April 2022.^[20][21]

Release[]

Broadcast[]

The series premiered on AMC on August 14, 2022.^[22] The first episode was released on August 11, on AMC+ and each subsequent episode will be made available a week before their AMC air dates.^[23]

Marketing[]

A teaser trailer was released on April 10, 2022, using the tagline "6 Different Stories, 1 Dead World".^[24]

Reception[]

Critical Reception[]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 74% approval rating with an average rating of 6.1/10, based on 23 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "While these Tales of the Walking Dead are shaggy dog stories of varying quality, there's still enough meat on the bone to justify this expansion of the long-running zombie saga."^[25] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 60 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[26]

Future[]

Tales of the Walking Dead is set to be followed by a separate series, titled More Tales from the TWDU.^[27]

Promotional Material[]

Trailers[]

Tales of the Walking Dead Official Teaser - Premieres This Summer 2022

Teaser

Tales of The Walking Dead - Official Teaser Trailer

Teaser Trailer

TWD SDCC Trailer- Tales of the Walking Dead - New Series Premieres August 14

SDCC 2022 Trailer

Sneak Peeks[]

Tales Of The Walking Dead 1x02 Sneak Peek Season 1 Episode 2 -HD-

"Blair / Gina"

Tales Of The Walking Dead 1x04 Sneak Peek Season 1 Episode 4 -HD-

"Amy / Dr. Everett"

Trivia[]

• This is the third spin-off series of The Walking Dead, after Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond.
• When cast and crew members of The Walking Dead were asked what they would like to see on Tales, they said the following:^[28]
  • Scott Gimple: The story of the plane that crashed in Lincoln, Nebraska during The Night the Sky Fell from "Brave".^[29]
  • Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha Williams): Sasha's backstory as a firefighter before and during the outbreak.^[30]
  • Ross Marquand (Aaron): Aaron's time working for the NGO in Nigeria.
  • Josh Hamilton (Lance Hornsby): Lance just before the apocalypse started.
  • Michael James Shaw (Michael Mercer): Michael and Max's journey to the Commonwealth.
  • Laila Robins (Pamela Milton): Pamela's life with her father.
  • Okea Eme-Akwari (Elijah): Elijah's home life, his training, the origins of his mask, and how he got his weapon skills.
  • Eleanor Matsuura (Yumiko Okumura): Yumiko's past and how she and Tomi ended up in America.
  • Nadia Hilker (Magna): Magna's backstory, murder trial, and her relationship with Yumiko.
  • Margot Bingham (Max Porter): Max's origin story.
  • Paola Lázaro (Princess): Princess' life before the apocalypse.
  • Josh McDermitt (Eugene Porter): A sitcom-style episode like Roseanne, with Eugene and Max after being married for 35 years.
  • Tom Payne (Paul "Jesus" Rovia): Jesus and Aaron's love story during the six-year time-jump.
• When asked about a potential second season of the series after it was neither officially renewed nor cancelled in 2023, co-creator Scott Gimple stated: "Oh, yeah. I hope we do. We're focusing on these classic characters, this year. The thing with Tales, it didn't end on this cliffhanger where you've gotta get back to that. It's an anthology show. So, I'm hoping that we can get back to it, but it's probably gonna be catch all as catch can, as far as within all the other shows. This year, though, is about focusing on these classic character shows, but also, we're still wrapping up Fear the Walking Dead. And then, there are other projects that have been on the burner, as well. We're getting the next phase ready."^[31]

References[]