The Carol and Daryl show, the Maggie and Negan adventure Isle of the Dead, and the anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead aren’t the only new additions to the Walking Dead universe we have to look forward to in the near future. Fear the Walking Dead is also getting a spin-off of its own – but this one is a special that will be released through the AMC+ streaming service. The spin-off special is called Dead in the Water, and centers on the character Nick Stahl played in the second half of Fear the Walking Dead season 6.
According to ComicBook.com, Dead in the Water will be available to watch on AMC+ as of April 10th. Stahl reprises the role of Riley,
the submarine weapons officer who helped Teddy (John Glover) fire the warheads that turned Texas into ground zero of the nuclear-zombie apocalypse. Dead in the Water rewinds to the eve of the apocalypse, where a conflicted officer and new father (Stahl) fights for survival just as the apocalypse hits. Shipmates turn one-by-one with no explanation, and the USS Pennsylvania becomes a nuclear-fueled and walker-filled death trap with no way out.
Fear the Walking Dead‘s co-showrunner Ian Goldberg has said that Dead in the Water will tell
a really cool story of how (the submarine crew) we met in (Fear the Walking Dead) Episode 615 (USS Pennslyvania) met that fate and a few other pieces of the mythology. I won’t say too much beyond that, but I think it’ll be really cool.”
Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss, Fear the Walking Dead‘s second showrunner, executive produced Dead in the Water alongside AMC’s TWD Universe chief content officer Scott Gimple. The special was written by Jacob Pinion.
Fear the Walking Dead season 7 will begin the week after Dead in the Water is released, with the first two episodes premiering on AMC+ on April 17th before airing on AMC on April 24th.
I haven’t watched Fear the Walking Dead season 6 yet, so I can’t say whether I’d be enthusiastic about watching the Riley special Dead in the Water or not.