First trailer for Tales of the Walking Dead reveals new sides of the zombie-filled world

Friday was a great day for Walking Dead fans at San Diego Comic-Con. Ahead of the flagship drama’s final Hall H panel, AMC introduced attendees to the upcoming spinoff, Tales of the Walking Dead, which is set to premiere Sunday, Aug. 14.

Unlike previous TWD shows, Tales of the Walking Dead is an anthology series, with each of the first season’s six episodes telling a standalone story set within the Walking Dead universe. Though most of these stories focus on new characters — including ones played by Parker Posey, Jillian Bell, and Anthony Edwards — Tales of the Walking Dead will also see the return of some familiar faces, including Samantha Morton as Alpha.

Morton was on hand during Friday’s SDCC panel, alongside co-stars Terry Crews and Danny Ramirez. The actors were joined on stage by Tales of the Walking Dead creator Scott M. Gimple, showrunner Channing Powell, and executive producer Michael Satrazemis.

During the panel, the cast and creative team shared a bit about what fans can expect of the anthology — and what sets it apart from other shows in this universe.

After explaining that the show was inspired by questions from fans, Gimple said “It tilts a little more towards the new.”

We’d gotten some small glimpses of what to expect of The Walking Dead anthology in the two previously released teaser trailers. But these were nothing compared to the full Tales of the Walking Dead trailer, which debuted during Friday’s panel. The trailer shows off the different characters dealing with the zombie-filled world in various ways, be it getting in shape or studying them — or running away!

Curtis Bonds Baker/AMC

It’s been 12 years since The Walking Dead premiered on AMC, and the network has spent much of that time exploring ways to expand the franchise. Tales of the Walking Dead is the third spinoff series, after Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond. Two additional spinoffs are in the works: an untitled show centered around Norman Reedus’ Daryl and Isle of the Dead, a six-episode series following Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan and Lauren Cohan’s Maggie. Fans also have the Rick Grimes and Michonne spinoff to look forward too. Plus, there are still eight more episodes of The Walking Dead to come. The hit show will return this fall to wrap up its 11^th and final season.

Of these new and upcoming projects, Tales of the Walking Dead is the only one to not be built around pre-existing characters in this world. It’ll be interesting to see whether fans latch on to its different approach, but based off what we’ve seen, there’s a lot of promise in the anthology series. And we’re not just saying that because of Parker Posey’s involvement (though that is a highly influential factor).

Tales of the Walking Dead’s first two episodes will premiere Sunday, Aug. 14 on AMC and AMC Plus.

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