by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Anthology series are hard to review. Since there’s no connecting through line (for the most part), all the episodes stand on their own. The tricky thing is figuring out if the stories mesh together, or if there are some that work better than others. It’s also tricky because some anthology shows are episode-to-episode as opposed to a season-long anthology series. There have been some anthology shows that I really like, such as The Twilight Zone, Room 104,or Black Mirror. Others haven’t fared as well. When there’s a spinoff series of a show that becomes an anthology series, it has a loose connection that will hopefully draw in fans. Our newest entry into this genre is from The Walking Dead franchise.
Tales of the Walking Dead, created by Scott M. Gimple and Channing Powell, is an anthology series that tells the story of six different groups of people trying to navigate what the world is like in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. Set in The Walking Dead universe, these individuals try to figure out next steps and learn tough lessons. Tales of the Walking Dead is six episodes and is on AMC and AMC+.
Before we move to the actual show, some context would be helpful about my relationship with The Walking Dead. I started watching it during season two. I watched until the season seven premiere, when the game changed a little. I read some of the comics, but not everything, and certainly not until the end. Overall, I enjoy the stories where the group is against zombies more than when the group is against humans. I really enjoyed watching the show when the main crew was together and no one felt safe. Investing in the people made this show one of my favorites for a long time.
In Tales, there are six episodes and six very different stories. There’s a little bit of everything for everyone here. You have a pseudo-road trip episode, a trippy Groundhog Day-esque episode, a man versus nature episode, and a really creepy horror-adjacent episode, among others. It’s a diverse group of stories where anyone should gravitate to at least one of these stories. The makeup with the zombies is, as always, top notch, and it shows just how much they care about the quality of how the zombies look.
However…
I’m not really all too sure about if this format is best suited for The Walking Dead universe. My biggest hangup with this show is that we spend only about 45 minutes with all these characters, and I just don’t have enough time to care about any of these people. For a show where I spent years getting to know the characters and became invested in their survival, it’s almost laughable to give these new characters only about an hour and then expect someone to care about their well-being.
From an episode standpoint, some go full-on sci-fi beyond zombies, and it just feels off. The only episode I liked was the one about Dee (Samantha Morton). It has a bit of a connection with The Walking Dead, but the story isn’t really connected until later down the road. I suppose I did like the one with Dr Everett (Anthony Edwards) and Amy (Poppy Liu). There is something about Dr. Everett that I find compelling, and I really like Edwards’ performance. The only other episode that might be considered a little more grounded compared the more sci-fi leaning is the first one involving Evie (Olivia Munn) and Joe’s (Terry Crews) road trip.
I’m thinking that one or two things could probably fix this issue of mine. First, continue to focus on more people within The Walking Dead universe and tell more backstory behind people. This helps connect to the original show and reminds viewers that this is set within the same universe. Second, focus an entire small season on one story. I don’t really know why there are six different stories. but it just feels like a lot to introduce, especially since The Walking Dead has a habit of introducing new people, only for them to be canon fodder.
I don’t understand why we need another Walking Dead show. Although this one is slightly different, I honestly don’t know why Tales of the Walking Dead needs to be a thing. Maybe it’s because The Walking Dead proper show is entering the final stretch, AMC has some things to ponder about how much more they can keep going to this well before the water starts to dry up. AMC is admittedly at a bit of a crossroads now, as their two of their bigger series and shared universes are coming to an end. With Better Call Saul concluding the Breaking Bad universe and The Walking Dead coming to an end, AMC needs to come up with something to stay relevant in the cable network pantheon. However, I’m not sure if this is the way to do it. Even if there’s a second season, I probably won’t be there to watch it.
Score: 5/10
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