Acorn Media, out now

Ten years after the rise of the Walking Dead, a group of teens have to make a dangerous journey…

The Walking Dead franchise took a sharp left turn with this latest spin-off, which sets itself apart in its storytelling, its lead characters, and most importantly, its very rigid structure. There are going to be two seasons; that’s it. No possibility (or at least that’s how it’s currently being spun) of more tales – even if some of what’s being established here will inevitably impact on the franchise going forward, particularly with the parent series wrapping next year.

We’ve covered the episodes individually elsewhere on this site (for details, click here), but looked at as a whole, it’s an uneven batch, with some pacing issues, particularly early on, which may well put some off. It is definitely worth sticking with, though – the more we get to know about the central characters, the more invested we become, and it doesn’t have the issues that have plagued the other shows, with too many characters to try to focus on at any one time. By the end, odds are you’ll want to know what happens to them – and luckily, season 2 is just starting.

Sadly, there aren’t any commentaries on the episodes here – we get some PR pieces introducing the series and the characters, and a slightly more indepth making of season 1 (8 or more hours summed up in 25 minutes).

Verdict: A valiant attempt to do something different, that just starts to pay off as the season reaches its conclusion. 7/10

Paul Simpson