The Daryl and Carol Walking Dead spinoff, which later became a Daryl-only spinoff, is reverting back to a Daryl and Carol spinoff.
At a New York Comic Con panel for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (which I moderated), series protagonist Norman Reedus announced that Melissa McBride would be joining the AMC spinoff’s second season as a series regular. The announcement comes after McBride made a vocal cameo as Carol on Sunday’s episode, in a radio call with Daryl, where she proclaimed that someone had “come back” but radio interference prevented her from revealing who.
“We love the character and want to keep her in the world of the show,” showrunner David Zabel told EW after the scene aired. Now, she will be a significant part of that universe in season 2.
McBride commented on joining the series in an AMC-released statement: “I knew there was much more to be told of Carol’s tale as I felt her so unsettled when we last saw her, as she watched her best friend Daryl ride away. Separately or (hopefully!) together, their stories are rich, and I am thrilled to continue Carol’s voyage in this article. This team of storytellers has done incredible work to place these two established characters in a completely new universe, and I am loving the new discoveries!”
The reunion of Daryl and Carol is the most recent development on a lengthy and winding road for the spinoff. The series, which was originally slated to star Reedus and McBride, was announced for the first time in September 2020, alongside the announcement that the original Walking Dead would end in 2022 following an expanded eleventh season. In April 2022, however, it was revealed that the spinoff would be filmed in Europe and that McBride had pulled out of the project because “relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time,” according to an AMC statement.
However, all parties hinted to EW that despite McBride’s absence from the Daryl Dixon spinoff, there was more to come between the duo. “I feel like Carol has more story to tell,” McBride told EW in the summer of 2022. I’ll leave it there. I believe she has more to say.”
Reedus was more direct than before. He insisted to EW, “Their journey has not concluded.” “They will eventually meet. You can practically wager your entire bankroll. There will be a lot of feet in a lot of mouths at some point.” “I read all these people complaining about it, and I have to just keep my mouth sealed.
In June of this year, co-star Jeffrey Dean Morgan tweeted a photo of the two on set, celebrating their reunion.
