THE WALKING DEAD

FINAL SERIES BEGINS

After 12 years and 169 episodes so far, the zombie-apocalypse drama is about to shamble to its conclusion as this block of eight episodes wraps up not only the 11th series but the show as a whole. Don’t expect it to go quietly though — when we last saw the gang (including

Gabriel Stokes, played by Seth Gilliam, right) they were preparing for war against the ruthlessly pragmatic Commonwealth of surviving towns. Always less about the shuffling brain-eaters and more about the politics of survival among the humans, TWD set a high bar for fantasy drama, playing out like a highquality postapocalyptic soap opera. The flagship show might be dying, but its various spin-offs live on — not least a Negan and Maggie show tentatively scheduled for next year.

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