Sumith Prasad
A spin-off of ‘The Walking Dead,’ AMC’s post-apocalyptic series ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ revolves around Maggie Greene and Negan, who team up to find the former’s son Hershel, who is kidnapped by the latter’s former underling, The Croat. Although Negan isn’t keen on joining Maggie on a suicide mission, the latter threatens to turn him in to authorities since he is a wanted man. Without no other option in front of him, Negan joins Maggie for the sake of his own safety as well. Intrigued by the series, we have dived deep into its setting. If you are eager to know more about the same, you are at the right place! SPOILERS AHEAD.
When Does The Walking Dead: Dead City Take Place?
The zombie apocalypse in ‘The Walking Dead’ universe begins on August 24, 2010, as per ‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond.’ The original series concludes its storyline with its eleventh season, which is set during the 12th and 13th years of the apocalypse, which indicates that Maggie and Negan are last seen in ‘The Walking Dead’ in 2023. ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ begins two years after the events that conclude the series finale of the original show. “I think that this spin-off is going to take place a couple of years after, and here’s the problem with those couple of years that we don’t see what happens to these characters,” Jeffrey Dean Morgan confirmed to Deadline.
‘Dead City’ seemingly takes place in 2025. As Morgan indicated, the significance of the two-year gap between ‘The Walking Dead’ and the spin-off series is that the time justifies the changes that happen to the central characters of the latter show, mainly Negan. The former leader of The Saviors is a changed man in the eleventh season of the original series. However, the narrative of ‘Dead City’ demands Negan to be a reflection of his vicious past self. The two years between the two shows help the writers of ‘Dead City’ to integrate the same changes to Morgan’s character. “Negan has an opportunity to fall into his old ways in these missing years. He is very much a creature of habit, and he knows how to survive,” the actor added.
The two-year gap also allows the writers of the spin-off series to add mystery to the narrative of the series. Negan’s wife Annie and their kid’s whereabouts are unknown when the narrative begins in the premiere episode of ‘Dead City.’ What really happens to them in between the two years may turn out to be a significant part of the narrative of the series.
Where Does The Walking Dead: Dead City Take Place?
‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ takes place in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Several iconic NYC landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Tunnel, and the Empire State Building are slated to feature in the series. The significance of Manhattan as a setting lies in its location. In the series, the region is cut off from the rest of New York City since the bridges that connect the borough to the main city are destroyed. Such an alienated region adds tension to the narrative of the series, especially when Maggie and Negan end up in the place in search of the former’s son Hershel.
“Manhattan is the ground zero of the virus. The government bombed all the bridges and access to and from the island. People were basically just left there to die, so those that are still alive are pretty bitter about it,” Lauren Cohan told EW about the setting’s significance. Furthermore, New York City is not a setting that has featured extensively in the original series, which allows the writers of the spin-off series to explore a new setting and expand the universe. Although the series is completely set in NYC, the first season of the same was filmed in both New York and New Jersey.
Read More: Where is The Walking Dead: Dead City Filmed?
