‘Walking Dead’ Anthology Series ‘Tales of the Walking Dead’ Ordered at AMC

AMC has officially greenlit the episodic anthology series “Tales of the Walking Dead.”

The show’s six-episode first season is slated to debut on AMC and AMC Plus in summer 2022. Each one-hour episode is set within the world of “The Walking Dead” and will feature both new and existing characters. Channing Powell, who has worked as a writer and producer on both “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead,” serves as showrunner. Powell will work alongside Scott M. Gimple, the chief content officer of “The Walking Dead” universe.

“‘The Walking Dead’ is a show that made television history and attracted an army of passionate and highly engaged fans,” said Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios. “We see so much potential for a wide range of rich and compelling storytelling in this world, and the episodic anthology format of ‘Tales of the Walking Dead’ will give us the flexibility to entertain existing fans and also offer an entry point for new viewers, especially on streaming platforms. We have seen the appeal of this format in television classics like ‘The Twilight Zone’ and, more recently, ‘Black Mirror,’ and are excited to engage with fans in this new way, against the backdrop of this very unique and engrossing world.”

“Tales of the Walking Dead” was first announced as being in development in September 2020. It was announced at the same time as the news that “The Walking Dead” would end with its eleventh season as well as the news that Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride would star in a spinoff series about Daryl and Carol.

“This series, more than any other in the Walking Dead Universe, runs on new voices, perspectives, and ideas — bringing to life stories unlike any we’ve told before,” Gimple said. “I’m thrilled to be Channing’s consigliere, helping in every way I can to make those new visions real for the best fans in TV. I started as a fan of ‘The Walking Dead’ and have ended up as a showrunner of what will hopefully be one of its most unique spin-offs. That’s nuts and I’m so grateful to AMC and Scott for supporting me and my writers while we pushed, pulled and poked at the boundaries of this universe to bring you something new and unexpected, while hopefully still tending to what core audiences loved so much about the flagship show.”

In an interview with Variety in 2020, AMC COO Ed Carroll said that “Tales” would serve as a “test kitchen” of sorts, meaning that if a particular episode is well received, it could lead to another spinoff. Along with “The Walking Dead,” AMC is also home to both “Fear the Walking Dead” and “The Walking Dead: World Beyond.”