Although AMC’s original The Walking Dead series concluded in 2022, the franchise is poised to continue expanding for the foreseeable future with an exciting slate of spinoff series. The latest spinoff series, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, is on the way and will mark the highly-anticipated return of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). For viewers looking to catch up on the franchise before Grimes’ spinoff, this guide will demonstrate how and where to watch The Walking Dead franchise in order.
The Walking Dead was originally a comic book series by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. By 2010, AMC had secured the television rights to the story and released the show’s pilot episode. The big-budget zombie apocalypse show was an instant hit and only continued to gain popularity as it expanded its universe, cast, and character development.
However, the franchise became complicated for viewers to watch chronologically quite early on. This is because the companion series Fear the Walking Dead premiered in 2015 and ran alongside the original series. While the first three seasons serve as prequels to The Walking Dead, the remaining seasons run concurrent to the original. Several actors even switched between series from 2015 to 2022.
By the time The Walking Dead concluded, two more spinoffs, The Walking Dead: World Beyond and Tales of the Walking Dead, had already premiered. Meanwhile, its conclusion opened the door for even more series as several long-standing cast members and fan favorites were granted solo series.
The Walking Dead franchise in chronological order
Watching in chronological order means there will be a lot of going back and forth between shows instead of watching them one at a time. Chronological order might give viewers a more comprehensive view of the franchise, but it’s not necessary as the franchise can be understood when watching by release date, which results in a bit less back-and-forth.
Still, if you’re up for the challenge, the chronological order is:
- Fear the Walking Dead (seasons 1 - 3)
- The Walking Dead (seasons 1 - 8)
- Fear the Walking Dead (season 4)
- Tales of the Walking Dead
- The Walking Dead (season 9)
- Fear The Walking Dead (season 5)
- The Walking Dead (season 10)
- The Walking Dead: World Beyond
- Fear the Walking Dead (season 6)
- The Walking Dead (season 11)
- Fear the Walking Dead (seasons 7 - 8)
- The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
- The Walking Dead: Dead City
The Walking Dead franchise in release order
However, newcomers to the franchise are recommended to watch every TV show and season by the release date order outlined below.
- The Walking Dead Season 1
- The Walking Dead Season 2
- The Walking Dead Season 3
- The Walking Dead Season 4
- The Walking Dead Season 5
- Fear the Walking Dead Season 1
- The Walking Dead Season 6
- Fear the Walking Dead Season 2
- The Walking Dead Season 7
- Fear the Walking Dead Season 3
- The Walking Dead Season 8
- Fear the Walking Dead Season 4
- The Walking Dead Season 9
- Fear The Walking Dead Season 5
- The Walking Dead Season 10
- The Walking Dead: World Beyond Season 1
- Fear the Walking Dead Season 6
- The Walking Dead Season 11
- The Walking Dead: World Beyond Season 2
- Fear the Walking Dead Season 7
- Tales of the Walking Dead
- Fear the Walking Dead Season 8
- The Walking Dead: Dead City
- The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
Below you’ll find every TV show and streaming offers for where to watch them online.
