When The Walking Dead debuted in 2010, few could have predicted it would spawn six further installments (and counting) while giving the zombie subgenre a shot in the arm. Yet here we are 15 years later, with the franchise still chugging along.
The ultra-gory survival epic-cum-soap opera, based on Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore’s comic book series, changed the level of violence one could expect from basic cable — and resurrected an interest in the undead that’s still reverberating today. After The Walking Dead premiered on AMC, zombies started appearing just about everywhere you looked.
Pop culture has moved past zombie mania in recent years, but The Walking Dead’s creators have made sure we have no shortage of gut-munching options. Even before the original series wrapped in 2022, the spinoff Fear the Walking Dead brought new depths to the franchise. A series of sequels soon followed — Dead City, Daryl Dixon, and The Ones Who Live — to fill those lonely nights when all we want to see is a bit of eye-gouging and brain filleting.
With the Dead-iverse seemingly expanding by the year, Entertainment Weekly has compiled a handy guide for watching The Walking Dead franchise in chronological order, from the prequels to the sequels and one-off specials.
Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2023)
Seasons 1–3 of the franchise’s first spinoff serve as a prequel to The Walking Dead. It revolves around a dysfunctional family led by type-A guidance counselor and mama bear Madison (Kim Dickens, always awesome) and chilled-out teacher Travis (Cliff Curtis). Along with their children, they flee into the wilderness early in the apocalypse and have to quickly adapt to a new, savage lifestyle.
What begins as a prequel evolves into a companion piece. Fear the Walking Dead remains fairly consistent throughout its run and is especially satisfying in later seasons when it shrewdly intersects with the parent series (and introduces an against-type Jenna Elfman). The show is best when Dickens is at the helm, leading a tale of blue-collar, middle-class suburbanites whose learning curve provides a welcome antidote to the hardened characters in the rest of the franchise.
Where to watch Fear the Walking Dead: Netflix
The Walking Dead (2010–2022)
What to say about the show that started it all? The original (and best) installment begins through the eyes of bereaved family man and former sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). After waking up in a ravaged rural hospital, he desperately tries to survive in the immediate aftermath of the zombie apocalypse amidst a barrage of hungry walkers, rotting organs, and nasty marauders.
As Rick crosses paths with fellow survivors across seasons — including fan favorites Daryl (Norman Reedus); Glenn (Steven Yeun); Michonne (Danai Gurira); The Governor (David Morrissey); Carol (Melissa McBride); and of course Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) — the series expands into a rich ensemble drama balancing its end-of-the-world, brain-spilling thrills with smart character-sketching and devastating narrative turns.
Across 11 increasingly tense seasons, The Walking Dead introduced us to some of the most unforgettable characters on television — all while giving us a visceral taste of what it might be like to fight for our lives against ravenous flesh-eaters. It delivered unimaginable cliffhangers (hello, Lucille) and even more astonishing follow-ups (goodbye, Glenn). It is, without hyperbole, one of the most influential series of all time.
Where to watch The Walking Dead: Netflix
Tales of the Walking Dead (2022)
This standalone anthology series doesn’t exactly have a clean spot on the chronological timeline. Depending on the episode, it takes place before, during, or after the events of The Walking Dead, profiling mostly new characters as they navigate the increasingly complicated post-walker world. As such, it can be watched after The Walking Dead or interspersed within your 11-season journey.
The series expands the universe in a pleasant, mostly unobtrusive fashion, with one-off episodes and fun guest stars like Terry Crews, Embeth Davidtz, Anthony Edwards, and, in its best episode, Parker Posey and Jillian Bell. Tales also serves up some delectable direct tie-ins to TWD, including the gangbusters episode that serves as a prequel for Whisperers leader Alpha (Samantha Morton), who appeared late in the original show’s run. The series allows itself to have fun with the built-in premise and expand upon it.
World Beyond (2020–2021)
This two-season potboiler, set a decade after the onset of the outbreak, follows teenage sisters (Aliyah Royale and Alexa Mansour) who’ve led sheltered, terrified existences among the first generation to grow up in flesh-eating turmoil. Their refuge is a makeshift safe zone on the Nebraska State University campus — but after getting troubling messages from their abducted scientist father, they set out on their own to track him down. Eventually, they learn about the nature of their father’s work and, more broadly, the state of medical research in this postapocalyptic world.
The main thrust of World Beyond is to provide context for the nebulous Civic Republic Military (CRM) — which spirited our beloved Rick early in season 9 — as well as insight about where the ex-sheriff is now. The show hits some nice beats in fleshing out this universe, but it inevitably feels like a teasing build-up to The Ones Who Live.
The Ones Who Live (2024–present)
The newest direct sequel to the parent show, The Ones Who Live brings back Rick and Michonne, not to mention Pollyanna McIntosh’s CRM agent Jadis (née Anne), previously seen whisking Grimes away. Years after his capture, Rick has seemingly accepted his fate, despite his desire to return to Michonne and their children. Michonne, for her part, refuses to rest until the family is reunited. Fate — and an exploding helicopter — brings them back together.
The Ones Who Live is a six-episode cap on the original series that works best as an extended epilogue. It’s as exciting, gory, and action-packed as you’d expect, but it’s also one of the franchise’s most emotionally grounded entries. The chemistry between Lincoln and Gurira is as fiery as ever, palpable even when their characters aren’t sharing a scene. The show sticks the landing, too. It gives us exactly what we want and finishes with a devastating wallop — but not without making us sweat through a lot of toe-curling suspense.
Daryl Dixon (2023–present)
Daryl Dixon is one of three direct sequels to The Walking Dead — and its most worthy successor. The series follows Reedus’ titular character after he washes up on the shores of France following the flagship series’ conclusion. As Carol continues her search for Daryl stateside, the scraggly drifter finds himself on the wrong side of French autocrats while protecting a young boy (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) and a nun (Clémence Poésy), who are trying to flee a religious cult that believes the young man is their messiah.
A crackling addition to the Dead-iverse, Daryl Dixon has plenty of fan service, delivering what audiences want from the beloved badass while expanding the franchise’s thematic reach. TWD always toyed with political subtext, but Daryl Dixon dives in all the way — and is all the better for it.
Dead City (2023–present)
The first TWD sequel produced, but the last in the timeline, Dead City follows the unlikely duo of Lauren Cohan’s Maggie (Glenn’s bereaved former lover) and Negan (Glenn’s once-ruthless, now softened killer) years after the original series finale. Equally tense and emotionally satisfying, the show finds Negan accompanying Maggie on a perilous mission to Manhattan to rescue her and Glenn’s son, Hershel (Logan Kim), who has been kidnapped by the Croat (Željko Ivanek), a bloodthirsty former Savior who now heads a group of violent outcasts looking to take over NYC.
Dead City is a taut, focused follow-up to The Walking Dead that pares down the franchise’s ensemble, honing in on two of its most memorable supporting characters. Turning Negan into a good guy — and tasking him with caring for a mute child — might sound like a shark-jumping moment, but the series pulls it off with an admirably hard-won pathos for the infamous antihero.
Where to watch Dead City: Netflix
How to watch The Walking Dead franchise in release order:
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The Walking Dead (2010–2022)
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Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2023)
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World Beyond (2020–2021)
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Tales of the Walking Dead (2022)
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Dead City (2023–present)
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Daryl Dixon (2023–present)
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The Ones Who Live (2024–present)
How to watch The Walking Dead franchise in chronological order:
-
Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2023)
-
The Walking Dead (2010–2022)
-
Tales of the Walking Dead (2022)
-
World Beyond (2020–2021)
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The Ones Who Live (2024–present)
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Daryl Dixon (2023–present)
