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The Endless Narrative
Are we running out of stories to tell?
When AMC’s sensationally successful The Walking Dead aired its final episode, fans all over the planet were gutted. Even though it had, by then, been twelve years since the first episode aired in 2010.
Not wanting to let the fans wallow in their heartbreak (or, more appropriately, let go of those cushy per-episode sums), creators were quick to announce not one, but several sequels, spin-offs, prequels, and diverse other off-shoots to compound the existent winding universe of figurines and memorabilia.
To witness TWD’s monster success, you’d think fair enough. They earned it.
Except, the more you look around at our cultural foreground, The Walking Dead is in no way alone in this. It seems every successful TV program of the past fifteen years is vying for its own off-shoot universe.
FX’s cult classic Sons of Anarchy was quickly followed by its own spin-off, Mayans M.C., which prolonged fans’ journey into the SOA universe for an extra five years.
I was reading just last night about possibilities for more spin-offs to Taylor Sheridan’s fantastic Yellowstone, which has yet to end its original run. At first, as a fan of the show, I was thrilled to hear my favorite characters might be returning for more. But then, I got to…
