AMC can’t get enough of the world of the dead. This is the fifth spin-off that the studios have set in work. 

Lauren Cohen and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are set to reprise the roles they both have to have for a long period, in the series called Isle of the Dead. The series contains six episodes and takes place on a deserted Manhattan in New York. The series is set to debut in 2023 on AMC and AMC Plus.

 “This is a very big day for the expanding universe we are building around ‘The Walking Dead,’” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks. “It not only adds another compelling series to this collection, it extends our storytelling around two unforgettable characters fans have grown to love, hate or hate and then love in Maggie and Negan, brilliantly inhabited by Lauren and Jeffrey. It also lets us explore a corner of this universe located on the island of Manhattan, with an iconic skyline that takes on a very different meaning when viewed through the lens of a zombie apocalypse.”

Eli Jorné returns to the zombie world as a writer, executive and showrunner. He has previously run The Walking Dead for several seasons as both writer and co-executive producer. Cohan and Morgan will also executive produce the new series.  Scott M. Gimple will tackle his role as Chief Content Officer.

“Eli has created a chaotic, beautiful, grimy madhouse of the dead for Negan, Maggie, and fans of the show eager to discover an unseen and insane world of the TWD Universe,” said Gimple. “Lauren and Jeffrey have always been fantastic collaborators and now, we bring that collaboration to the next level with a series that will take these characters to their limits with the world — and each other. All of us are thrilled to take you on an all-new, all different TWD epic for the ages.”

Both Morgan and Cohen has praised the setting and the collaboration with New York Skyline as the place of a zombie apocalypse.

“…Walkers in an urban setting has always been such a cool image, but 5th Avenue, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty? The greatest city in the world?? The backdrop is amazing, but it’s the story that Eli Jorné cooked up that is even better. Buckle up folks, Isle of the Dead is going to reinvent the TWD Universe. Huge thank you to Dan McDermott, Scott Gimple and AMC for having us back for more… we simply can’t wait.”

The world of The Walking Dead has grown with eleven seasons of the original and seven seasons of the first spinoff Fear the Walking Dead. The concept is winning. The final season of the original series is set to premiere with the ending block of eight episodes in late 2022.

Source: Variety.com