It Will Be A Miracle If Any ‘Walking Dead’ Show Returns In All Of 2020 – Forbes

While the COVID pandemic has more immediate, pressing problems than the return of TV shows, in the entertainment sphere it’s proving to be a unique threat, as it’s been incredibly difficult for those who work in the industry to get back filming again. You can make a video game or record music remotely, oftentimes, but you cannot film a movie or TV show that way.

One show that is more affected than most is The Walking Dead, which has not one, but three different series to worry about, all of which film inside the US where the pandemic seems to actively be getting worse. And a zombie series with hordes and fight scenes is not exactly something you can film with social distancing.

The longer this goes on, the more I would be surprised if any Walking Dead show will return in 2020, outside of one specific episode of the series.

Here’s where we stand right now:

The Walking Dead Season 10 finale – Post-production work on this single episode was not finished, which is why it could not air with the rest of the season a few months ago. According to the showrunner, the date of the finale will be announced soon, as it appears they have found a work from home solution to finish at least this one episode. I would expect it will likely arrive in August, if it’s being announced at virtual Comic Con in a week or so.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond – This was the brand new spin-off series that was supposed to debut right after the finale, but the entire thing was pushed with post-production not finished on the 10 episode first season (the entire series will only be two seasons, 20 episodes total). The last update we had for that series was in May, when it was stated that yes, it should be out before the end of the year. And yet the pandemic has not gotten better in the US, which may have been the anticipation, so I would be surprised if that’s the plan. And yet if it’s only post-production work that needs to be finished, not filming, maybe this one can squeeze in there.

Fear the Walking Dead Season 6 – The sub-series here was interrupted in the middle of filming and has not resumed yet. We would likely be in the middle of the season right now if this was a normal year, as it would have debuted after World Beyond and ended before the October premiere of The Walking Dead. But with no word on when it will be able to resume filming, it’s not clear how this makes it out any time soon.

The Walking Dead Season 11 – This was scheduled to start filming months ago but it simply has not been possible, and no one seems to know when a start date will be, given the current situation. Out of every show listed, it is the least likely that TWD proper will arrive in 2020, as it will not only miss its October start date, which it has hit every year for a decade, but there’s almost no way we see it this year at all, I’m guessing.

AMC is very reliant on the still very-popular Walking Dead franchise to air more or less year-round, and now it was supposed to have a year with 42 weeks of Sundays with Walking Dead episodes, split across three shows. But things have changed wildly, and I will be amazed if we get any more than the back half of season 10 and maybe World Beyond, if that, for the entire year. Stay tuned.

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