Tales of The Walking Dead review: New series goes where the original series never did

It seems that every time you turn around, there is a new spinoff series set within The Walking Dead universe.

Already, the franchise has released The Walking Dead: World Beyond as a limited series and Fear the Walking Dead, a spinoff that is heading into its eighth season.

Added to the mix is an upcoming Daryl Dixon series set in Europe and, potentially, dealing with fast zombies. Negan and Maggie will also be escaping to New York City in an upcoming spinoff called Isle of the Dead, which is currently filming.

At San Diego Comic-Con, AMC also announced that Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) will return with a spinoff show that will be replacing the original concept of a trio of movies.

Tales of The Walking Dead is the next in line and is set to premiere on August 14.

This series will be an anthology series that takes a look into entirely new characters week to week. Although, the series will also be taking a deep dive into an already known character in The Walking Dead, with the inclusion of Alpha’s (Samantha Morton) backstory.

So, is this new series any good?

Is it worth watching Tales of The Walking Dead?

The short answer is yes.

Having seen the first three episodes of the six-episode premiere season run, I found it interesting to see the zombie apocalypse through the eyes of different characters.

Each episode I’ve seen so far brings together two characters, as revealed by IMDb, in each episode title: 101 “Evie/Joe,” 102 “Blair/Gina,” and 104 “Amy/Dr. Everett.”

As pointed out by Collider, so far, each of these pairings involves the pairing of characters that are in direct opposition to each other.

For example, Joe (portrayed by Terry Crews) in Episode 1 is totally prepared for the end of the world, and Evie (Olivia Munn), while also somewhat prepared, is the polar opposite when it comes to her personality. Joe is reserved and rigid, whereas Evie is more open to seeing what the universe will bring to her.

In Episode 2, a similar dynamic is set up between Blair (Parker Posey) and Gina (Jillian Bell). This time, the pair know each other and already know that they don’t get along.

And, seriously, Episode 2 is the standout episode so far in Tales of The Walking Dead as the TV show goes to a place never before seen in The Walking Dead Universe, bringing both humor and a strange situation together brilliantly.

Finally, the third installment (although it is titled Episode 4) involves Dr. Everett (Anthony Edwards), a man who studies the undead, and Amy (Poppy Liu), a woman who has accidentally wound up in his path. He is structured, she is most definitely not yet they still manage to find a common ground — for a while, at least.

This episode is my least favorite but, still, the characters play well off each other and the ending is not what I expected after seeing the first who instalments.

What else can fans expect in Tales of The Walking Dead?

Considering AMC gave out early screeners that included Episodes 1, 2, and 4, I am going to predict that Episode 3 contains some sort of information they don’t want to be leaked just yet.

Potentially, it could be the episode that is set some 30+ years into the future and will, thus, give spoilers on the rest of The Walking Dead universe.

Alternatively, it could also be the episode that features Alpha’s backstory and will, once again, contain huge spoilers for the original series.

All in all, going into this series, I had concerns after having to struggle through The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and whatever has happened with the last few seasons of Fear the Walking Dead.

Luckily, Tales of The Walking Dead surprised me with its intimate look into new characters as well as its sassy humor and I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with next.

Tales of The Walking Dead will premiere on Sunday, August 14 at 9/8c on AMC.