AMC’s spin-off Carol and Daryl Walking Dead just lost its leading lady.
Original Walking Dead star Melissa McBride has left the untitled spinoff set to follow her character alongside frequent on-screen favorite Daryl from Norman Reedus.
“Melissa McBride has brought to life one of the most interesting, real, human and beloved characters in the The Walking Dead universe. Unfortunately, she is no longer able to be a part of the previously announced spin-off, which focuses on the characters Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier and is set and filmed in Europe this summer and premieres next year. A move to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this point. We know fans will be disappointed by this news, but The Walking Dead Universe continues to grow and expand in interesting ways and we really hope to see Carol again in the near future,” AMC said in a statement Wednesday.
The actress has played Carol since she joined The Walking Dead pilot in a recurring role in season one. The untitled spinoff picked up in September 2020 with details, including filming location, yet to be finalized. Sources say McBride decided against filming abroad when he found out about the European location. The flagship series, Walking Dead, has been filmed in Atlanta for the past decade. Sources say other options for McBride and Carol are being discussed.
Carol and Daryl were fan favorites on the show from the start. Both characters started out as sidelines but quickly rose to star status as their characters developed into badass fighters and a series of cast departures followed.
AMC announced a direct series order for the Carol-Daryl spinoff in September 2020, in a move that effectively spoiled the flagship series finale. The spinoff is set to debut in 2023 following the conclusion of the flagship drama’s 11th and final season.
Reedus and McBride struck landmark franchise/universe deals with AMC in late 2018. These multi-year pacts, the first of their kind for AMC, included substantial pay rises for both stars and covered three years of the franchise as a whole, meaning if their characters are written off the flagship and relocated to another estate in the Walking Dead franchise – ie their new spinoff – they would continue to get paid.
McBride’s deal, which also included a sizeable salary increase, netted the actress an estimated $20 million over three years. The pacts have been described as groundbreaking as they go beyond traditional series/whole deals and allow both Reedus and McBride – who have been regulars since season two when they made $8,500 per episode – to freely transition between new ones as a franchise Moving Projects in the Walking Dead Universe Chief Scott M. Gimple charts a course that includes returning characters who have come and gone with everything from new series and digital spin-offs to miniseries.
“I have always enjoyed working so closely with Norman over these many seasons. By playing Carol, and as a viewer of the show, I’ve also long been fascinated by ‘Daryl and Carol’ and by what felt kind of connected between them so early on, even then,” McBride said in September 2020. “Their story together is long and the personal struggle for survival even longer – the more obvious aspect of what keeps them close and loyal. But there’s also a rather mysterious aspect to their affection for one another that I enjoy, and their playfulness when the world allows. I am very curious! Angela has a way of shaking things up in great and unexpected ways. She’s like a kid playing with the dimmer! I’m very excited!”
The Walking Dead has seen its fair share of shocking cast departures. McBride’s departure draws parallels with Andrew Lincoln, who has been the face of the franchise, Rick Grimes, since season one. The star left the series a few seasons ago with plans to helm three feature film spin-offs set in the world of Robert Kirkman’s zombie drama. Nothing has changed in Universal Pictures features for years.