Season 1 (Daryl Series)

This article is about the first season of the Daryl series. For other pages with the same name, see: Season 1

Season 1
Distributor	AMC
Showrunner	David Zabel
Based On	AMC's The Walking Dead
Channels	AMC/AMC+ (United States) Paramount+ (France)
Episodes	"L'âme Perdue" "Alouette" "Paris Sera Toujours Paris" "La Dame de Fer" "Deux Amours" "Coming Home"
Original Run	Sep 10, 2023 to Oct 15, 2023
Succeeded By	Season 2

Season 1 of AMC's The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premiered on September 10, 2023, and concluded on October 15, 2023, consisting of 6 episodes. The series is a companion series to The Walking Dead, which is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. It was executive produced by Kirkman, David Alpert, Gale Anne Hurd, Scott Gimple, Angela Kang, Brian Bockrath, Jason Richman, Daniel Percival, Greg Nicotero, Norman Reedus and David Zabel, with Zabel assuming the role of showrunner.

Plot

"L'âme Perdue"

Daryl Dixon washes ashore in France and sets out to return to America. He suffers an arm wound upon encountering a new walker variant called "burners". Near Marseille, Daryl encounters Maribelle and her grandfather Guillaume. Henri and Michel, soldiers from a paramilitary group called Pouvoir des Vivants (Power of the Living), attack them and are killed before Maribelle and Guillaume rob Daryl and flee. The pair are caught by Michel's brother Codron, who kills Guillaume and seeks revenge on Daryl on the assumption he killed Michel. Isabelle, a nun for the Union de L'Espoir (Union of Hope), finds Daryl and takes him to her abbey for treatment.

She introduces Daryl to Laurent, a young boy the Union believes is the Messiah destined to revive humanity; she believes Daryl is the messenger who must deliver Laurent to the Union contingent in Paris. He rejects the idea and leaves. Codron's men attack the abbey, killing most of the nuns, but Daryl returns and helps to fend off the assailants. Daryl agrees to help in exchange for Isabelle leading him to Le Havre. It's revealed that a Pouvoir ship transporting walker test subjects took Daryl from America, but he instigated a mutiny, destroyed their research and escaped. Genet, the leader of Pouvoir, orders that Daryl be found.

"Alouette"

During the initial outbreak, Isabelle, a drug addict and thief, escapes from Paris with her boyfriend Quinn and her pregnant sister Lily; she ultimately abandons Quinn. Lily dies and gives birth as a walker to Laurent via emergency C-section. In the present, the group loses their mule and are captured by a group of children living in their old preschool with their dying teacher, Madame Dubois. Laurent makes friends with the children, who tell him the nuns are lying to him. Needing a horse, Daryl offers to get medicine for Dubois if one of the children, Lou, helps him raid a nearby castle owned by a man dubbed La Tarasque. Inside, Daryl confronts the man, revealed as an American from Texas named R.J. Gaines, and rescues a boy he has captured. Gaines falls into his own walker moat and is devoured, while the kids rescue Daryl. Meanwhile, Dubois has died, and Daryl encourages Lou to step up as their leader. Daryl's party leaves, but Laurent expresses frustration over secrets kept from him. Codron returns to the abbey where he finds Daryl's recorded message, a picture of Laurent and a map of the group's route to Paris.

"Paris Sera Toujours Paris"

After a brief stop in Angers, including a bizarre zombie orchestra performing Boléro, Daryl's group finally reaches Paris. There, after a poignant encounter with a little girl – now a zombie – who used to be Isabelle's neighbor, they meet a community led by a man named Fallou. With their help, Daryl seeks out information on a ship that can return him to America, which leads the group to the Demimonde nightclub and a reunion with Isabelle's ex-boyfriend Quinn. Quinn reveals that he is Laurent's father and demands that Isabelle and Laurent stay with him in exchange for his help. Daryl rejects the deal and prepares to set out on his own after an argument with Isabelle, leading to Laurent running away after overhearing them. Codron meets with Genet, who agrees to let him lead the search for Daryl while her people continue experimenting with walkers. Pouvoir attacks Fallou's community and Isabelle searches for Laurent, while Daryl falls through a roof following a brutal fight with Codron.

"La Dame de Fer"

Genet begins a search for Laurent, seeking to eliminate him as he is a symbol of hope to people. As part of this, Genet makes a deal with Quinn who seeks Laurent in order to get Isabelle back. After escaping from a flooded building, and having a dream that a praying Laurent is ignored by a mob of walkers, Daryl encounters Antoine who is killed by guerriers, but he helps the dying man to free his pigeons. Reuniting with Isabelle, Daryl tracks Laurent to the ruins of the Eiffel Tower where the boy nearly falls victim to a herd. During the rescue, Laurent is kidnapped by Quinn's men and taken to Demimonde. With the help of a captive, whom he tortures and later abandons to walkers, Daryl sneaks into the nightclub and rescues Laurent while Fallou and his people create a distraction. Daryl overpowers Quinn while Anna, disgruntled by Quinn's obsession with Isabelle, lets them go. Having fallen in love with Emile, Sylvie decides to stay in Paris with him while Isabelle decides to stay in order to get Quinn to help secure Daryl and Laurent passage out as Genet locks the city down. Daryl and Laurent leave Paris on a boat heading to the Nest, the Union's main base.

"Deux Amours"

In Maine, Daryl helps to capture walkers in exchange for fuel he needs to get home. He briefly makes contact with Carol, who tells him someone has come back. After Juno murders a young man whom Daryl was mentoring, an altercation between the two causes them to be put on the Pouvoir ship; the two work together to escape, but Juno is torn apart by one of Pouvoir's test subjects who displays enhanced abilities similar to multiple variants. In the present, Isabelle struggles to adjust to being with Quinn again, even considering killing him with a knife, and receives a hidden message from Sylvie, Fallou, and Emile.

Isabelle agrees to join a Pouvoir celebration with Quinn, only to have a jealous Anna betray them. Daryl, Laurent and Azlan continue their journey to the Nest, but Azlan is killed during a fight with several walkers. Before dying, he reveals that the Nest is at Mont-Saint-Michel, but Laurent cuts a rope and lets their boat float off, wishing to go to America with Daryl instead. The two and Quinn are captured by guerriers and Genet coerces Laurent into making a show of support at an event she holds, where Genet pits Daryl in a gladiator fight against one of her enhanced walkers, unaware that Sylvie, Fallou and Emile have infiltrated the event.

"Coming Home"

After Daryl kills the walker, Daryl and Quinn, chained together, kill several enhanced walkers in the arena before Fallou kills the guerrier Genet ordered to shoot them. In the chaos that follows, the group escapes, with a bitten Quinn sacrificing himself to buy Daryl time, but he reanimates, forcing Laurent to put his biological father down with Daryl's encouragement. After going their separate ways from Fallou and Emile, Daryl's group resumes journeying towards Mont-Saint-Michel, but are attacked by Genet's men. Unable to kill a child, Codron shoots the other guerriers instead, promising to get revenge on Daryl later. Upon his return, Genet deduces Codron's betrayal and has him tortured for information. Daryl's group finally reaches the Nest where they settle in.

Daryl becomes conflicted between staying in France and returning to America. Union of Hope leader Losang arranges passage to Newfoundland for Daryl, who chooses to leave despite Isabelle's comparing his abandoning Laurent to Daryl's abandonment by his own father. At the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, Daryl visits the grave of his grandfather, William T. Dixon, who died on D-Day. On Omaha Beach, Daryl prepares to board a boat, but hesitates when he sees Laurent secretly followed him and has a herd of walkers closing in on him. Near Freeport, Maine, Carol searches for Daryl, finding his motorcycle. After Carol captures its hostile rider, he directs Carol to where he found it.

Episodes

	Title	Writer(s)	Director(s)	Original Air Date	U.S. Viewers
1.	"L'âme Perdue"	David Zabel	Daniel Percival	September 10, 2023	0.63 million
2.	"Alouette"	David Zabel Jason Richman	Daniel Percival	September 17, 2023	0.56 million
3.	"Paris Sera Toujours Paris"	Coline Abert	Tim Southam	September 24, 2023	0.65 million
4.	"La Dame de Fer"	Shannon Goss	Tim Southam	October 1, 2023	0.72 million
5.	"Deux Amours"	David Zabel Jason Richman	Daniel Percival	October 8, 2023	0.63 million
6.	"Coming Home"	Jason Richman Laura Snow	Daniel Percival	October 15, 2023	0.69 million

Title Screen

Main article: Title Screens (Daryl Series)

Cast

• Starring
• Also Starring
• Co-Stars

Starring

• Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon (6/6)
• Clémence Poésy as Isabelle Carriere (6/6)
• Louis Puech Scigliuzzi as Laurent Carriere (6/6)
• Laïka Blanc-Francard as Sylvie (6/6)
• Anne Charrier as Marion Genet (5/6)
• Romain Levi as Stéphane Codron (6/6)
• Adam Nagaitis as Quinn (5/6)

Supporting

• François Delaive as Dr. Lafleur (4/6)
• Eriq Ebouaney as Fallou Boukar (4/6)
• Lukerya Ilyashenko as Anna Valery (3/6)

Guests

• Catherine Arditi as Véronique (2/6)
• Faustine Koziel as Lily Carriere (3/6)
• Kim Higelin as Lou (1/6)
• Dominique Pinon as Antoine (2/6)
• Joel de la Fuente as Losang (1/6)

Special Guest Stars

• Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier (3/6)

Co-Stars

• Hugo Dillon as Père Jean (2/6)
• Carmen Kassovitz as Maribelle (1/6)
• Bernard Bloch as Guillaume (1/6)
• Paul Deby as Michel Codron (1/6)
• Elias Hauter as Philippe Poulin (1/6)
• Grégory Kristoforoff as Captain (1/6)
• Maxime Lefrançois as Capo (3/6)
• Ned Dennehy as R.J. Gaines (1/6)
• Durel Nkounkou Loumouamou as Moof (1/6)
• Milo Mazé as Hérisson (1/6)
• Victoria Comte as Hibou (1/6)
• Tiago Simonnet as Renard (1/6)
• Joao Philippe Oshoffa as Criquet (1/6)
• Grégory Lu as Abeille (1/6)
• Ethann Isidore as Sacha (1/6)
• Onann David-Hahn as Jules (1/6)
• Naïa Pichler as Aimée (2/6)
• Shanna Keil as Aline (1/6)
• Benoît de Gaulejac as Sugar Daddy (1/6)
• Cedric Omont as Well-Dressed Man (1/6)
• Tristan Zanchi as Emile Thibault (4/6)
• Paloma as Coco (1/6)
• Sabine Pakora as Sonia (2/6)
• Eric Frey as The Conductor (1/6)
• Chrystal Boursin as Nadine (2/6)
• Elie Haddad as Bastien (2/6)
• Michaël Erpelding as Bernard (1/6)
• Ike Ortiz as Rodo (1/6)
• Dylan Louhoungou as Door Guy #1 (1/6)
• Shiraz Tzarfati as Gate Guard (1/6)
• Genc Jakupi as Armand (1/6)
• Hassam Ghancy as Azlan (2/6)
• Bobby Bitsong as Didier (1/6)
• Caroline Gay as Marie (1/6)
• Gilbert Glenn Brown as Jones (1/6)
• Tercelin Kirtley as Drew (1/6)
• John Ales as Juno (1/6)
• Craig Gellis as Grady (1/6)
• Martin Martinez as T.J. (1/6)
• Avant Strangel as Radio Operator (1/6)
• Ryan Chidester as Bert (1/6)
• Paul Zies as Mick (1/6)

Deaths

• Sue (Confirmed Fate)
• Henri
• Michel Codron (Alive and Zombified)
• Guillaume
• Jean (Alive, Confirmed Fate; Zombified)
• Martin (Alive and Zombified)
• Jèrèmie
• François
• Philippe Poulin
• William
• Richard
• Dell
• Köping
• Lucci (Alive and Zombified)
• Véronique
• Aimée's Father (Flashback, Off-Screen)
• Astérix (Off-Screen)
• Mr. Carriere (Confirmed Fate, Pre-Apocalypse)
• Mrs. Carriere (Confirmed Fate, Pre-Apocalypse)
• R.J. Gaines
• Julien (Alive, Confirmed Fate; Zombified)
• Dubois
• Lou's Parents (Confirmed Fate)
• Moof and Julien's Parents (Confirmed Fate)
• Hibou's Parents (Confirmed Fate)
• Criquet's Parents (Confirmed Fate)
• Abeille's Parents (Confirmed Fate)
• Sacha's Parents (Confirmed Fate)
• Jules' Parents (Confirmed Fate)
• Aline's Parents (Confirmed Fate)
• Hérrison's Parents (Confirmed Fate)
• Sylvie's Parents (Confirmed Fate)
• Lily Carriere (Alive, Flashback; Zombified, Off-Screen, Flashback)
• Sonia's Husband (Confirmed Fate)
• Mr. Codron (Confirmed Fate)
• Mrs. Codron (Confirmed Fate)
• Mrs. Garnier (Alive, Confirmed Fate)
• Garnier (Alive, Confirmed Fate)
• Aimée (Alive, Confirmed Fate)
• Gate Guard
• Guerrier 1
• Guerrier 2
• Antoine
• Demimonde Guard 2
• Armand
• Azlan's Wife (Confirmed Fate)
• Azlan's Son (Confirmed Fate)
• Azlan's Father (Confirmed Fate)
• Azlan
• Guerrier 5 (Off-Screen)
• T.J. (Alive, Off-Screen, Flashback)
• Bert (Flashback)
• Guerrier 6 (Flashback)
• Juno (Flashback)
• William Dixon (Flashback, Pre-Apocalypse)
• Jay F. Simmons (Flashback, Pre-Apocalypse)
• Daniel D. Stanman (Flashback, Pre-Apocalypse)
• Jason Beichman (Flashback, Pre-Apocalypse)
• Arthur C. Richards (Flashback, Pre-Apocalypse)
• Jason T. Gold (Flashback, Pre-Apocalypse)
• Frank O'Connor (Flashback, Pre-Apocalypse)
• James Garner (Flashback, Pre-Apocalypse)
• Quinn (Alive and Zombified)
• Capo
• At least 66,800,000 French citizens (Confirmed Fate)
• 8 unnamed Power of the Living Guerriers (1 Alive and Zombified)
• 5 unnamed nuns
• Several unnamed Bonnie patrons (Flashback, Off-Screen)
• Numerous unnamed Paris residents (Flashback, Many Alive)
• 3 unnamed rooftop community residents (2 Confirmed Fate)
• 1 unnamed Power of the Living test subject (Zombified)
• Many unnamed apartment building residents (Alive, Confirmed Fate; 2 Zombified)
• 1 unnamed Demimonde guard
• 4 unnamed Power of the Living prisoners (Flashback, Off-Screen)
• 6 unnamed Power of the Living Ship crewmembers (Flashback)
• Many unnamed Allied soldiers (Flashback, Pre-Apocalypse)
• 2 fish
• 1 rabbit

Production

The series was announced in September 2020 by Angela Kang and Scott Gimple. Reedus and McBride signed on to reprise their respective roles from the television series.

In April 2022, McBride exited the series due to logistical reasons as the show was set to film in mid-2022 in Europe and it wasn't possible for McBride to be with the show with this setup. The series was reworked as a sole Daryl project. Days later, Kang had left the role of showrunner and was replaced by David Zabel. The deal had reportedly been sealed in recent weeks before McBride's exit from the show. In October, the series was given the title Daryl Dixon. In January 2023, it was announced that the series would be titled The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon and premiere later in 2023.

Casting

In November 2022, Clémence Poésy and Adam Nagaitis were added to the main cast. In February 2023, Anne Charrier, Eriq Ebouaney, Laïka Blanc-Francard, Romain Levi and Louis Puech Scigliuzzi were announced as additional cast members. In June 2023, The Walking Dead alum Jeffrey Dean Morgan indicated in a tweet that Melissa McBride would reprise her role as Carol Peletier in some capacity.

Filming

Principal photography began on October 24, 2022, in Paris, France.

Writing

In September 2020, Kang was hired as showrunner after she had helmed the final three seasons of The Walking Dead.

In April 2022, Kang stepped down due to other commitments and Zabel took the role. Scripts were already being written by this time but needed to be reworked following McBride's departure. In September, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Reedus explained that the series would be going an opposite direction from the main series having it being a completely different story from what we have already seen with Daryl. The following month, Reedus said that there would be familiar faces from the main series in the spin-off.

Release

The series premiered on September 10, 2023, on AMC and AMC+.

Reception

Critical Response

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon has received positive reviews from critics, with several calling it the best Walking Dead content in years, although some noted its similarities to The Last of Us television series. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 71% based on 38 reviews with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critics consensus is, "Centering Norman Reedus' fan favorite character in a fresh setting, Daryl Dixon can be a wobbly shot across the crossbow but still gives The Walking Dead faithful plenty more to chew on." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

David Opie of Digital Spy gave it a 4/5 rating and called it "The best Walking Dead has been in ages". Chase Hutchinson of Collider gave it a "B" rating and applauded Norman Reedus' "stoic performance" that has a "renewed energy to the character and making the spin-off worth watching" and that the series "focuses more on character and emotion rather than empty spectacle, giving the story a greater sense of depth." Aaron Pruner of TheWrap gave it a positive review and noted Clémence Poésy's "standout performance" and concluded that it "is a surprisingly gorgeous, soul-stirring, and riveting watch. Norman Reedus said they were making art with this show. And you know what? He wasn't lying."