Walking Dead OG Melissa McBride Joins Daryl Dixon Season 2 as Series Regular: ‘There Was Much More to Be Told of Carol’s Story’
After it was announced in April 2022 that Walking Dead leading lady Melissa McBride would not be co-headlining AMC’s Daryl Dixon spinoff with Norman Reedus — as had been the original plan — the network tried, really tried, to keep her involvement a secret. But only two months later, behind-the-scenes photos from a French-based Instagram account suggested, and then Jeffrey Dean Morgan confirmed, that besties Daryl and Carol would be reunited after all.
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Taking a shot at “fans” who flamed Reedus in the wake of McBride’s initial exit, Morgan, who stars on the Dead City offshoot of Walking Dead, tweeted, “Well, well. We’re sorry, Norman… for talking oodles of s—t to you when we thought Melissa wasn’t doing [the] show! Golly… this must [have] been in the works for ages!
“Twas from the start,” he added. “Great seeing these two together! Can’t wait.”
In October 8’s penultimate Season 1 episode of Daryl Dixon, Reedus’ gruff-but-tender protagonist reaches his platonic soulmate over the radio. But Carol is only heard, not seen. However, in the finale — which airs Sunday, Oct. 15, at 9/8c — McBride will bring her iconic character roaring back in the flesh, on screen, AMC announced at New York Comic-Con Thursday. What’s more, the fan favorite will be a series regular in Season 2, which is going by the title The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol.
“I’ve known there was much more to be told of Carol’s story as I felt her so unsettled when we last saw her, as she watched her best friend, Daryl, ride away,” McBride says in a statement. “Apart or (hopefully!) together, their stories run deep, and I’m so excited to continue Carol’s journey here.
“This team of storytellers,” she adds, “have done amazing work to land these two established characters in an entirely new world to them, and I’m loving the discoveries!”
In late August, Daryl Dixon struck a deal with SAG-AFTRA to resume production on Season 2.
