The Walking Dead to end in 2022 - but will live on through spin-offs

Danai Gurira and Norman Reedus are in the final series of the show

Zombie TV drama The Walking Dead is to finish in 2022 with an extended 24-episode season, US TV network AMC has said.

The series, which started in 2010 and will have run for 11 seasons, is not disappearing entirely, though.

Two of the show's stars, Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride, who play Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier, will get a spin-off series, which is already in development.

That is expected to premiere in 2023.

Writer and producer Scott M Gimple said: "What's clear is that this show has been about the living, made by a passionate cast, team of writer/producers, producers, and crew, bringing to life the vision put forth by Robert Kirkman in his brilliant comic - and supported by the best fans in the world.

"This will be a grand finale that will lead to new premieres. Evolution is upon us. The Walking Dead lives."

The post-apocalyptic horror series has already spawned various spin-offs, including Fear The Walking Dead and Chris Hardwick's Talking Dead, which screens after the show has broadcast, with guests and a studio audience.

Another offshoot following the first generation to come of age in the apocalypse, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, will make its debut next month; while an anthology series titled Tales of the Walking Dead is also in the works.

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The Walking Dead starred British actor Andrew Lincoln as ex-police officer Rick Grimes, and repeatedly broke US cable TV ratings records in its opening years. Lincoln left during the ninth season.

Samantha Morton played Alpha

Samantha Morton played the show's latest villain Alpha, the leader of The Whisperers - a new group of survivors.