The Ones Who Live are in, and they’re looking good. The sixth spinoff in the franchise, which takes place after the original series ends, follows Michonne in her search for Rick Grimes and his return after being whisked away in a CRM helicopter.
Joining returning cast members Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, and Pollyanna McIntosh from The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live are Lesley-Ann Brandt, Matthew August Jeffers, and Terry O’Quinn from Lost, who plays Beale, the Major General of the CRM.
Reviews for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live are now in, and they are generally trending positively ahead of the show’s launch later this month. IGN’s Matt Fowler offers similar praise, calling it an “emotional, gripping” spinoff that is “focused on telling a complete tale, with little wasted movement, showcasing how much you have to scrape and claw to find and foster true love and intimacy in a world dedicated to survival at all costs.”
Sarah Moran of Screen Rant describes Rick and Michonne’s return as a “romantic, tense thriller” that tests “just how strong of a bond they share.”
What The Ones Who Live Reviews Are Saying About The Walking Dead Spinoff
In contrast to past spinoffs like The Walking Dead: World Beyond, which received harsh criticism, the reviews generally point to The Ones Who Live as maybe the best one to date for the brand.
As Amy West of GamesRadar+ puts it, “Rick and Michonne’s story makes for the best new spin-off yet,” Kaiya Shunyata of RogerEbert.com writes, “Each time Lincoln and Gurira are on screen it becomes clear that while the spinoffs have been entertaining, they were missing the kind of sincerity these two actors bring to the table.”
Reviews also stress that because The Ones Who Live was created by Scott Gimple for followers of The Walking Dead franchise, it is not a show for new viewers. As What To Watch’s Sarabeth Pollock puts it, it’s “a triumph, lovingly created by TWD fans for TWD fans.”
However, it appears that the offshoot draws inspiration from outside sources. It’s described as a “conspiracy thriller against the backdrop of the post-zombie apocalypse” by ComicBook.com’s Cameron Bonomolo. This is The Walking Dead on the grandeur and scale of a zombie movie blockbuster, with elements of Prison Break and World War Z.”
Still, not all reviewers are raving over The Ones Who Live. According to Chase Hutchinson of Collider, “For a series about what comes next after the world as we know it has well and truly died, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is lacking in life when it needs to revitalize itself, and the franchise, most.”
The spinoff starring Rick and Michonne, according to Diego Peralta of Discussing Film, “needs a stronger bite.” The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will debut on AMC and AMC+ on February 25. Fans will soon get the opportunity to see the spinoff and make their judgments.
