Press Association
Melissa McBride has officially dropped out of The Walking Dead spin-off Daryl and Carol.
According to AMC, the series will now focus solely on Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon. “Melissa McBride has given life to one of the most interesting, real, human and popular characters in The Walking Dead Universe,” an AMC spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, she is no longer able to participate in the previously announced spin-off focused on the Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier characters, which will be set and filmed in Europe this summer and premiere next year. Relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time. We know fans will be disappointed by this news, but The Walking Dead Universe continues to grow and expand in interesting ways and we very much hope to see Carol again in the near future.”
AMC announced in September 2020 that the main Walking Dead series would be coming to an end with an expanded season 11. The network also shared at the time that McBride and Reedus would be continuing in the Walking Dead universe for their own spin-off.
Shortly after the announcement, The Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang opened up about details about the spinoff. “There’s been talk for a long time about a Darryl-Carol spin-off. And so that was something that we were working on well in advance of the news about the ending of the series.”
She added, “They’re going to be off on a different journey. And that show’s going to feel hopefully a little tonally fresh. They’re just in a different stage of their lives and it’s more of a road show, which I think will be really fun.”