If this was a normal year, the eleventh season of The Walking Dead would have started airing on AMC last month. Due to pandemic delays, the season won't make its premiere until next fall – so AMC has decided to fill the extended gap between seasons with six bonus episodes, and details on every one of those episodes just been revealed.
The first bonus episode will premiere on AMC on Sunday, February 28th. Here's the synopsis for this batch of episodes:
Last on The Walking Dead, we witnessed the fall of Alpha (Samantha Morton) and the end of the Whisperers War. The Kingdom had fallen, Hilltop was virtually destroyed and Alexandria abandoned to prepare for final battle. Our survivors were trapped and separated from one another. Yet, when faced with almost certain death, they rallied together to fight, killing Beta (Ryan Hurst) and eliminating the threat of the horde.
In these six new episodes, we find our survivors trying to pick themselves up by their bootstraps following the destruction the Whisperers left in their wake. The years of struggle weigh upon them as past traumas surface, exposing their more vulnerable sides. As they question the state of humanity, the state of their collective community, and the states of their minds, will they find the inner strength to persevere with their lives, friendships, and group intact?
The scripts for these episodes were crafted with COVID-19 safety precautions in mind, and they've been described as "deep dives" into the show's characters. Here are the details on each individual episode:
EPISODE 1017 – “Home Sweet Home”
Maggie (Lauren Cohan) has returned with a story she is not ready to share, even when her past catches up to her. Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan,) safety is at stake again. Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Maggie fight an unseen and unknown threat.
Director: David Boyd
Writers: Kevin Deiboldt & Corey ReedEPISODE 1018 – “Find Me”
An adventure for Daryl and Carol (Melissa McBride) turns sideways when they come across an old cabin. It takes Daryl back to the years when he left the group after Rick disappeared as he relives a time that only the apocalypse could manifest.
Director: David Boyd
Writer: Nicole Mirante-MatthewsEPISODE 1019 – “One More”
Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) search for food and supplies to bring back to Alexandria. Small tragedies lead to bigger tragedies as faith is broken and optimism is fragmented when they are put to the ultimate test.
Director: Laura Belsey
Writers: Erik Mountain & Jim BarnesEPISODE 1020 – “Splinter”
Eugene (Josh McDermitt), Ezekiel (Khary Payton), Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura), and Princess (Paola Lázaro) are captured and separated. Princess struggles with memories of her traumatic past and tries to escape one way or another with the help of Ezekiel.
Director: Laura Belsey
Writers: Julia Ruchman & Vivian TseEPISODE 1021 – “Diverged”
Daryl and Carol come to a fork in the road and head their separate ways. Each going into their own type of survival mode, the easiest of challenges become much harder. Will their individual journeys be the tipping point needed to mend their friendship or is the distance between them permanent?
Director: David Boyd
Writer: Heather BellsonEPISODE 1022 – “Here’s Negan”
Carol takes Negan on a journey, hoping to minimize the increasing tension. Negan reflects on the events that led him to this point and comes to a conclusion about his future.
Director: Laura Belsey
Writer: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick
Guest stars in these episodes will include Hilarie Burton Morgan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan's real life wife) as Negan's late wife Lucille and Robert Patrick as someone named Mays. It's also noted that Okea Eme-Akwari becomes a "new co-star" as of these episodes, playing Maggie's masked companion Elijah.
That sounds like a good line-up of episodes to me. I think The Walking Dead has improved since Angela Kang took over as showrunner with seasons 9 and 10, so I'm feeling positive about these bonus episodes and season 11 (which is set to be the final season).
Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, The Walking Dead is produced by AMC Studios and executive produced by Chief Content Officer Scott M. Gimple, Showrunner Angela Kang, Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Dave Alpert, Greg Nicotero, Joseph Incaprera, and Denise Huth.
As seen on one of the Twitter embeds below, it has also been announced that fans in the UK will be able to catch the bonus episodes on Fox starting March 1st.