Atlanta actress Melissa McBride has decided not to join a planned AMC “Walking Dead” spinoff show that would have involved her character Carol and friend Daryl, played by Norman Reedus.
“Melissa McBride has given life to one of the most interesting, real, human and popular characters in ‘The Walking Dead’ universe,” a network spokesperson said in a statement to TVLine. “Unfortunately, she is no longer able to participate in the previously announced spinoff focused on the Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier characters, which will be set and filmed in Europe this summer and premiere next year. Relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time.”
AMC said this doesn’t preclude her character from showing up again in another way on a different “Walking Dead” project in the future.
>> RELATED: Profile of Melissa McBride I wrote in 2014
The spin-off project, which has not been given a name and has not started production, was first announced in November 2020.
Carol was a breakout star on the original “Walking Dead.” She was not originally meant to have such a big role when she was introduced in season one as a meek, abused wife. But the character ended up becoming a beloved, integral hard-nosed fighter on the show.
McBride, who is now 56, acted in the 1990s in Atlanta, then became a casting director in Atlanta from 2000 and 2010 before nabbing the “Walking Dead” role.
Carol and Daryl are the only characters who appeared on the show all 11 seasons. “The Walking Dead” recently wrapped its final season in Senoia. The final eight episodes will air later this year.
“I love this character,” McBride told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2014. “She and the others are all living so immediately, so presently. There’s nothing to look forward to. They have to deal with the here and now. It’s a profound thing.”
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