PaleyFest Fall Previews: AMC’s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

One in a series of seminars presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's 2025 Fall TV Previews PALEYFEST events. Recorded virtually, this evening celebrates “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - The Book of Carol,” AMC's dramatic action series spinoff of "The Walking Dead" about two post-apocalyptic survivors in Europe who re-connect to battle zombies which have overtaken earth. Jason Lynch (curator, The Paley Center for Media) shows a trailer for the show's third season before moderating the following panelists: executive producer/showrunner David Zabel; executive producer Scott M. Gimple; executive producer/director Dan Percival and executive producer/cast members Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) and Melissa McBride (Carol Pelletier). The panelists touch on such topics as: the motivation for moving the show's setting from France to England and Spain for season three; how the visual aesthetic in Spain and "spaghetti western" auteur Sergio Leone's style affected Percival's direction; if Gimple intended to attract new viewers by completely changing the show's supporting characters and setting; Dixon's preparations to showcase the evolution of Daryl's hot-headed nature; the chief appeal for McBride to continue a role that she's played for 15 years; the reason that Zabel insisted on Spain's history, ranging from the Basque separatist movement to the Spanish Civil War, to be incorporated into scripts; the ongoing chemistry between the characters of Daryl and Carol; how the unique locations for season three were chosen; Gimple's thoughts on where Daryl and Carol could next travel; why London was only briefly used as a locale for season three; what Dixon has learned from observing the energy and passion of Spaniards; why AMC green-lighted season three's expanded episode count; the decision to end the show with season four; and Reedus and McBride's reaction to the upcoming conclusion of the show and their characters. Also included is a scene from the series' third episode, "El Sacrificio."