Tales of the Walking Dead anthology show heading to AMC in 2022

AMC is the latest network to announce an anthology series based on a hit show — in this case, The Walking Dead. The upcoming anthology series will be called Tales of the Walking Dead, and it will tell new stories via single standalone episodes featuring new characters in the zombie apocalypse. The series will be available on both AMC and AMC+.

In contrast with the existing Walking Dead TV shows, the upcoming title will tell smaller stories, one per episode, to expand the scope of the universe viewers have spent years watching. Characters from the existing shows will also make appearances in the anthology alongside new cast, potentially offering a fresh take on the increasingly stale hit series.

According to Deadline, Channing Powell will serve as the anthology's showrunner with production set to start in early 2022. AMC has only ordered six episodes for the anthology series, which will be available to watch on AMC next summer, as well as on the AMC+ streaming platform.

Each episode will be one hour long. AMC's Dan McDermott explained that by adopting an anthology format, the team behind the show will have more "flexibility to entertain" fans while also making it easier for newcomers to jump into the zombie-filled universe. Among other things, the team teased "stories unlike any we've told before."

The Walking Dead isn't the first hit TV show to get its own anthology spinoff. The most notable recent example is American Horror Story with the American Horror Stories anthology series that debuted earlier this summer. Anthology shows can also serve as a nice buffer between full seasons for the larger series upon which they are based.