The Walking Dead and all its spin-offs: the complete guide to watching it all without getting lost

Let me tell you something: I watched them all. All of them. The eleven seasons of the main series, the spin-offs, the miniseries, the YouTube shorts almost nobody knows about. And I realized something: this universe is a tree, with a huge trunk, branches going off in every direction, and little twigs connecting them to each other. If you walk in without a map, you get lost. So here is your map.

And yes, before you ask: I love this universe. I love zombies, I love the apocalypse, I love watching people break apart and rebuild themselves when there’s nothing left. (Some writing decisions drive me crazy too, of course. Both things live side by side without contradicting each other.) This post doesn’t defend the saga or attack it: it’s so you can see everything without missing a thing, and so that at the end you discover the branch I wrote myself.

In short

• The Walking Dead universe has 7 series and 371 episodes in total, counting Daryl Dixon’s final season (February 2027).
• The main series is The Walking Dead (2010-2022), 11 seasons and 177 episodes. It’s the trunk: everything grows out of it.
• There are 6 spin-offs: Fear (2015-2023), World Beyond (2020-2021), Tales (2022), Dead City (2023-2026), Daryl Dixon (2023-2027) and The Ones Who Live (2024).
• Where do I start? In release order: The Walking Dead, Fear, World Beyond, Tales, Dead City, Daryl Dixon and The Ones Who Live. The chronological order is further down.
• Do I have to watch them all? No. The main series stands on its own. But Fear, Dead City and Daryl Dixon expand the world in ways the main series never did.
• Where can I watch them? They all premiered on AMC. In Latin America, the original is on Netflix and Disney+, and the spin-offs on Prime Video; in Spain, the spin-offs are on AMC+.
• Are there official shorts on YouTube? Yes, eight series of official AMC shorts on The Walking Dead channel. The links are further down.
• Are there more spin-offs announced? No. As of November 2026, no new series has been announced.

What is The Walking Dead universe? The complete tree

It all starts with a comic by Robert Kirkman. A police officer, Rick Grimes, wakes up from a coma in an empty hospital and discovers the world ended while he was asleep. That’s 2010, that’s the pilot, and that’s the trunk.

The branches grow out of the trunk. Some are born before the trunk in the story (Fear starts when the virus is barely breaking out), others are born after it (Dead City and Daryl Dixon take place years after the end of the main series), and others are loose little twigs that bloom in a single episode (Tales). And then there are the YouTube shorts, which fill in gaps the series left open: who the bicycle girl from the pilot was, where Rick’s red machete came from, what happened on a nuclear submarine when everything fell apart.

The beauty of this universe is that it’s not just a long series: it’s a world, with its own history, its own rules (the zombies here are called walkers) and its own communities. I’ll show you every branch, and you decide which ones to prune.

The Walking Dead: the trunk (2010-2022)

11 seasons, 177 episodes, AMC, 2010-2022. The finale arrived on November 20, 2022.

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) wakes up from his coma, looks for his family, finds a group of survivors, and from there the series becomes something else: it’s no longer about zombies, it’s about people. About how people organize themselves when there’s no law, no power, no food, no guaranteed tomorrow. Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Michonne (Danai Gurira), Carol (Melissa McBride), Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) end up carrying the series in its final years. (Mine is Carol: the quietest character of season 1 ended up being the most dangerous person in the apocalypse.)

It’s based on Robert Kirkman’s comic, although from a certain point on it takes its own path. It has uneven seasons (7 and 8 drag on, I say it with love) and moments of pure television gold: the S7 premiere, Negan’s arrival, the war against the Whisperers. If you’re only going to watch one series from this post, let it be this one: it’s the trunk, and without it the branches mean nothing.

Where it fits and where to watch it: it’s the center of everything; everything else happens before, during or after it. It premiered on AMC; in Latin America it’s on Netflix and Disney+, and in Spain the catalog varies (from 2027, the Netflix-AMC deal brings the whole universe together on Netflix).

Fear the Walking Dead: the branch that was born first (2015-2023)

8 seasons, 113 episodes, AMC, 2015-2023. It ended on November 19, 2023.

Fear is the first branch, and it’s special for one reason: it starts earlier. While Rick sleeps in his coma, in Los Angeles an ordinary family watches the world fall apart in a matter of days. Madison Clark (Kim Dickens), her children Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and Nick, and Victor Strand (Colman Domingo) are the heart of the first seasons. There are no ready-made heroes here: a mother, a teacher, a recovering addict and a con man in an expensive suit trying not to die.

Over time, Fear stops being a prequel and runs in parallel. And in season 4 the crossover everyone was waiting for happens: Morgan Jones (Lennie James) jumps from the main series to Fear, and the two are stitched together forever.

My take: the first three seasons are the best of Fear: the start of the apocalypse from a big city, with ordinary people, no weapons, no plan. After that it changes direction several times, and it shows. Even so, it’s worth it: it’s the only one that shows you day one.

Where it fits and where to watch it: S1-S3, before and during the early years of the main series; from S4 on it runs in parallel. It premiered on AMC; in Latin America on Prime Video, in Spain on AMC+.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond: the branch of those born into the apocalypse (2020-2021)

2 seasons, 20 episodes, AMC, 2020-2021. A closed series, with an ending.

World Beyond is the most different branch of the tree. Its main characters don’t remember the world before, because they were children when it all ended: they’re the first generation raised inside the apocalypse. Iris (Aliyah Royale) and Hope (Alexa Mansour), two sisters from a protected community, go out looking for their father and run headfirst into the CRM, the secret military organization, the great mystery of the universe.

My take: it’s the series that divides fans the most, and I understand why. It’s younger, slower, and its main characters make decisions that make you want to shout at the screen. But it explains the CRM, that force that appears and disappears in every series like a ghost. If you want to understand the CRM before watching The Ones Who Live, you have to come through here. It’s 20 episodes: you can get through them in a long weekend.

Where it fits and where to watch it: roughly during S10 of the main series; it’s the bridge between Rick’s world and the CRM’s. It premiered on AMC; in Latin America on Prime Video, in Spain on AMC+.

Tales of the Walking Dead: six standalone stories (2022)

1 season, 6 standalone episodes, AMC, 2022.

Tales is the odd branch of the tree: every episode is a complete story, with new characters, in a different corner of the apocalypse. You don’t have to watch it in order or know anything beforehand. Terry Crews, Olivia Munn, Parker Posey and Samantha Morton lead some episodes, each with its own tone: horror, dark humor, drama, and even one that’s almost a romantic comedy with zombies in the middle.

My take: it’s the perfect series for when you don’t want to commit to 100 episodes. You watch one chapter, enjoy it, and get on with your life. My favorite is Samantha Morton’s, a lovely nod, since she played Alpha in the main series. A second batch was announced in 2023 and there has been no news since.

Where it fits and where to watch it: anywhere; they’re standalone stories at different moments in the timeline. It premiered on AMC; in Latin America on Prime Video, in Spain on AMC+.

The Walking Dead: Dead City: Maggie and Negan in Manhattan (2023-2026)

3 seasons, 22 episodes, AMC. S1: 6 ep. (Jun-Jul 2023). S2: 8 ep. (May-Jun 2025). S3: 8 ep. (Jul-Sep 2026), finale «Tenebrae».

Dead City is the branch nobody asked for and we all ended up loving. Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the two characters with the most unfinished business between them, have to work together in a ruined Manhattan, full of walkers and a new villain, the Croat, who makes Negan look friendly. The city is another character: empty skyscrapers, a flooded subway, zombies falling from the top floors.

My take: the chemistry between Maggie and Negan carries the series. She hates him (with good reason: he killed Glenn in front of her), he knows it, and even so they have to watch each other’s backs. That tension never fully resolves, and that’s the good part. The third season, with Seth Hoffman as showrunner, closed a big arc in September 2026, and for now no fourth season has been announced.

Where it fits and where to watch it: years after the end of the main series, one of the branches furthest from the trunk in time. It premiered on AMC; in Latin America on Prime Video, in Spain on AMC+.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon: the lone ranger in Europe (2023-2027)

4 seasons, 27 episodes in total, AMC. S1: 6 ep. (Sep-Oct 2023, France). S2, «The Book of Carol»: 6 ep. (Sep-Nov 2024, France). S3: 7 ep. (Sep-Oct 2025, Spain). S4 and FINAL: 8 ep., February 2027.

Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) wakes up on the coast of France without knowing how he got there, and he has to cross a whole country to get home. On the way he meets a nun, a boy some believe is the messiah, and a European version of the apocalypse: castles, abbeys and zombies that move differently. In the second season Carol (Melissa McBride) comes back, crossing the ocean looking for him, and the series becomes the story of the two of them. The third was filmed in Spain (Madrid, Bilbao, Galicia, Andalusia, Segovia, Toledo), and the fourth and last, in February 2027, too, with Jimmy Smits as Captain Alejandro Perkins and a Spanish cast that includes Eduardo Noriega, Óscar Jaenada, Hugo Arbués, Candela Saitta and Romain Levi. Norman Reedus already filmed his last day as Daryl at the end of 2025.

My take: it’s the most beautiful series in the universe, visually speaking. France and Spain suit the apocalypse: the landscapes, the light, the old cities. And Daryl and Carol together have been the heart of all this since season 1. If you ask me which one I enjoyed most in recent years, it’s this one. (And yes, I cried at the reunion. Don’t judge me.)

Where it fits and where to watch it: after the end of the main series; Daryl leaves the United States and his story runs in parallel with Dead City and The Ones Who Live. It premiered on AMC; in Latin America on Prime Video, in Spain on AMC+.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live: Rick and Michonne, at last (2024)

6-episode miniseries, AMC, 2024.

This is the branch fans waited years for. Rick Grimes and Michonne, separated since season 9 of the main series, finally reunite. Rick is trapped inside the CRM, the organization World Beyond introduced us to, and Michonne crosses half a continent looking for him. It’s six closed episodes, with no second season planned, and they close the greatest love story in the universe.

My take: six episodes fall short, and you know it from the first one. But they carry the full weight of fourteen years of story, and every scene between Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira is pure gold. If you’re only going to watch one miniseries from this post, let it be this one. And if you didn’t watch World Beyond first, it doesn’t matter: here they explain just enough about the CRM to follow the story.

Where it fits and where to watch it: after World Beyond and the end of the main series; it’s the close of Rick’s arc. It premiered on AMC; in Latin America on Prime Video, in Spain on AMC+.

What order do I watch the whole Walking Dead universe in?

The million-dollar question has two answers.

Release order (the one I recommend if it’s your first time):

1. The Walking Dead (2010-2022)
2. Fear the Walking Dead (2015-2023)
3. World Beyond (2020-2021)
4. Tales of the Walking Dead (2022)
5. The Walking Dead: Dead City (2023-2026)
6. Daryl Dixon (2023-2027)
7. The Ones Who Live (2024)

Chronological story order (for a second watch, or if you like pain):

1. Fear, S1-S3 (the outbreak in Los Angeles)
2. The Walking Dead, S1-S8
3. Fear, S4 (this is where Morgan Jones comes in)
4. Tales of the Walking Dead (standalone stories)
5. The Walking Dead, S9
6. Fear, S5
7. The Walking Dead, S10
8. World Beyond, S1-S2
9. The Walking Dead, S11
10. Fear, S6-S8
11. Daryl Dixon, S1-S4
12. Dead City, S1-S3
13. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live

And if you want to be precise, the shorts have their place too: Torn Apart, before the pilot; Flight 462, during Fear S1; Cold Storage, between S2 and S3 of the main series; The Oath, between S3 and S4; Red Machete, across the whole timeline; Passage, after Fear S2; The Althea Tapes, around Fear S5; and Dead in the Water, a prequel to Fear S6.

The official YouTube shorts that explain the universe

Here is the hidden treasure: AMC made eight series of official shorts, on The Walking Dead’s official YouTube channel, that fill in gaps the series never covered. Short, free and canon:

By the way, turn on the free VPN and set it to the USA, because that’s the only place you can watch them.

Torn Apart (2011, 6 parts)

The story of Hannah, the «bicycle girl» from the pilot, the first walker Rick meets: who she was before she became that thing dragging its legs along the road. By Greg Nicotero.

Full playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP63B9XPsQt2CPYzdgAbFCmlQGVSeX49x

Video with all the episodes together, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wobTSfnK0kI&rco=1

Cold Storage (2012, 4 parts)

Chase looks for shelter in a warehouse Rick visited in season 1, and discovers the place has an owner. And the owner is not a good person.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOpyxurMqrQ

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cTQ83npQHg

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqadOPXttNY

Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUU0pi6gv4

The Oath (2013, 3 parts)

Paul and Karina run to the hospital where Rick woke up from his coma, and you finally understand where «Don’t Open, Dead Inside» came from. Directed by Greg Nicotero.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVoaEa_mniQ

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoyW1LKQhnE

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vZREEK6V0U

Flight 462 (2015-2016, 16 parts)

The outbreak aboard a commercial airplane. Two of its passengers, Alex and Jake, end up crossing paths with Fear in its second season.

All the episodes in a single video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ5c7wLpVe8

Passage (2016-2017, 16 parts of less than a minute)

Sierra helps an injured Gabi reach a sanctuary. A tie-in for Fear S3 and the main series S7.

Link: Watch all the full episodes here

Red Machete (2017-2018, 6 parts)

The journey of Rick’s red-handled machete, from hand to hand and owner to owner, with the terrifying Joe (Jeff Kober) in between. AMC brought the six parts together in a 15-minute video, nominated for the Emmy for best short-form series in 2018.

Full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eUZ8zRn5Rs

The Althea Tapes (2019, 6 episodes)

Althea interviews survivors, and each tape is a small story from this world (Al, Ed, Earl and CJ, Clark, Jody and Samora).

«Al»: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5yOV6eo97E

«Ed»: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNSarwD2CpM

«Earl and CJ»: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnab4B8B1A4

«Clark»: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtD6TFTHvu8

«Jody»: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQvktsBMiTo

«Samora»: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apjhGM9sC6k

Dead in the Water (2022, 6 parts)

The crew of the nuclear submarine USS Pennsylvania lives through the start of the apocalypse under the sea, and one of its officers, Jason Riley (Nick Stahl), ends up in Teddy’s cult in Fear. A prequel to Fear S6.

Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM7k2ezoIa4

Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zizpKaQgVYA&list=PLP63B9XPsQt1Tn-cOIMYbse9LnvsCAmK-&index=2

Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7wz3GntbI8&list=PLP63B9XPsQt1Tn-cOIMYbse9LnvsCAmK-&index=5

Episode 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xPBX261O1M&list=PLP63B9XPsQt1Tn-cOIMYbse9LnvsCAmK-&index=5

Episode 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVxX_0A6uw0&list=PLP63B9XPsQt1Tn-cOIMYbse9LnvsCAmK-&index=6

Episode 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIGkxDJ4F6k&list=PLP63B9XPsQt1Tn-cOIMYbse9LnvsCAmK-&index=7

One warning: some videos are old, and YouTube sometimes blocks them by region. If a link doesn’t load for you, search for the title on the official channel (https://www.youtube.com/@TheWalkingDead): they’re all there.

My branch of the tree: Becoming a Zombie

Here I stop talking about AMC and tell you why I brought you here. (There’s always a catch, huh.)

I wrote my own branch of the apocalypse too. It’s called Becoming a Zombie, a five-book series set in Venezuela, in my hometown. Every place is real: the streets, the neighborhoods, the places my characters pass through. That’s what makes the horror feel different: it’s not a made-up apocalypse in an invented city, it’s the end of the world in the city where I was born.

It all starts with a virus that turns most people into killing machines. Those who are left have to survive, and they discover that the zombies in my world aren’t like the ones on TV: they move in an organized way, they show signs of intelligence, and that makes them much more dangerous. And humans, as always, are just as dangerous as the dead. There are no heroes: dark humor, irony, drama and suspense. Pure horror: zombies that give no warning.

Four books published, one on the way. If you’re left wanting more apocalypse, if you want to see what the end of the world looks like from a Venezuelan city, this is your next read.

The whole series, with covers and synopses, is on its page: https://www.kassfinol-libros.com/en/becoming-a-zombie/

Frequently asked questions

This tree is fifteen years old, with seven series, 371 episodes and eight short series. And it’s still growing: Daryl Dixon’s finale arrives in February 2027.

If you’ve already watched everything, tell me in the comments which branch is your favorite. If you haven’t watched anything, start with the trunk and don’t skip the shorts: they’re small, they’re free, and they explain things the series never took the time to explain. And if you’re left hungry for apocalypse, you already know where my branch is. I’ll be waiting for you in Venezuela, with the zombies that move in an organized way and the humans who are just as dangerous as the dead. Keep reading.

— Kassfinol