After 12 long years, AMC’s The Walking Dead is coming to an end. The long-running show debuted on Halloween in 2010 and will end after 11 seasons next week.
Inspired by the 2003 comic of the same name, the AMC version of Walking Dead was created by Frank Darabont who, along with Gale Anne Hurd, acted as initial executive producer. Current showrunner Angela Kang will oversee the long-awaited finale of the popular zombie apocalypse show, which will air next Sunday at 9pm ET/8pm CT. Similarly to tonight’s episode “Family” and unlike previous episodes this season, AMC Plus subscribers will not have early access to the final episode, so be sure to keep that in mind when planning any Walking Dead finale watch parties.
AMC will premiere TWD:Red Carpet Live, a special pre-finale live red carpet at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT, which will be shown simultaneously on AMC and AMC Plus. After the pre-show, the finale will air with an extended runtime, but exactly how much longer will the final episode of The Walking Dead be?
How long is The Walking Dead‘s finale?
The final episode of The Walking Dead, humorously titled “Rest in Peace,” will have a longer-than-usual time slot of 90 minutes. Generally, TWD episodes have a time slot of 60 minutes and with this extended time slot, we’re expecting the final episode of the show to be a little over an hour accounting for commercials.
The finale’s director, Greg Nicotero, has been a special effects (SFX) artist for over three decades and has worked on the show since the beginning as a SFX supervisor and as a director. In an interview with AMC, Nicotero is credited with over 20 main character deaths in the season and speaks about the final season:
“We’re careening towards the finish line now, so it’s a whole different emotion. I think people want to see their characters go out in a memorable way.”
“Rest in Peace” is expected to set the stage for future spin-offs including an excitingly titled spin-off starring Norman Reedus and a Maggie and Negan spin-off titled Walking Dead: Dead City. Fans of the long-running show can also enjoy the Walking Dead spin-offs currently airing, like Fear of the Walking Dead and the new Tales of the Walking Dead, which debuted this past August.
Following the finale, viewers can watch the after-show Talking Dead where host Chris Hardwick will discuss the show and where the TWD universe will go from here. While The Walking Dead might be ending, fans will have plenty of opportunities to enjoy the extended TWD franchise.