Is actress Lauren Cohan's character Maggie going to be on The Walking Dead long enough to give birth to the child she discovered she was pregnant with back in season 6, well before baby daddy Glenn was killed at the head of season 7? Since it doesn't look like she's going to be giving birth before the end of season 8, she might not be.
As reported by Deadline, Cohan's contract is up at the end of this season, and she has yet to make a deal with AMC to remain on the show for future seasons. There have been a couple offers put on the table, with Cohan aiming high at first and asking for parity with co-stars Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus, who have much larger roles on the show than she currently does. AMC made a counter-offer of a "modest salary increase", which Cohan rejected. Typical back and forth stuff.
Trouble is, AMC didn't continue the back and forth beyond that point. Talks between the network and the actress have stopped completely. Free to start looking for other work, Cohan has been fielding offers from other networks, and so far has her choice of almost a half dozen different pilots she could star in if this communication breakdown with AMC continues.
I'm ambivalent about this issue. On one hand, Maggie is one of my favorite characters on the show and I would like to see her stick around in some capacity. On the other, if the decline in the show's quality continues, this would be a good time for Cohan to get out and find something better – something where she'd have a bigger role. She's been on the show for seven seasons, so I could understand if the idea of moving on from Maggie would have some appeal to it at this point.
Whether a deal is made and Cohan will be back for The Walking Dead's ninth season or if she decides to move on to a different project, we'll let you know how this all turns out.