The Fear the Walking Dead season 8 release date has come and gone, delivering the final installments of the longest-running spin-off in this sprawling zombie franchise. Did it bite off more than it could chew, and who led the cast? Well, read on.
This series began life as a prequel to the main The Walking Dead timeline, and if you’re still keeping up with all things related to one of the best horror series, we commend your commitment to the cause. It can’t be easy to stick with even the best TV series after more than a decade. So, for those of you dying, crawling, decayed-hand grabbing for more even now, let’s look back at all of the important info about the final season.
Who’s in the Fear the Walking Dead season 8 cast?
Alycia Debnam-Carey chose not to return for season 8, but made a big return for the finale. Kim Dickens, Lennie James, and Colman Domingo had big roles to play as Fear the Walking Dead told its final stories.
Lennie James as Morgan has taken center stage more and more as Fear the Walking Dead has moved closer to its conclusion, having moved across from the main Walking Dead cast to become one of FTWD’s leads. Dickens, meanwhile, returned as a series regular after sitting out seasons five and six and only appearing as a guest star in season seven.
Debnam-Carey chose not to reprise her role as Alicia for the final season. The actor said in an Instagram post that “it was time to move on as an actor and as a person”. While it’s always sad to see a long-running cast member depart, fans of lengthy shows aren’t strangers to it.
Thankfully, Alicia’s story did get to conclude in a satisfying way, as Debnam-Carey made a surprise appearance in the final episode to reunite with her on-screen mother.
Fear the Walking Dead season 8 cast list:
- Lennie James as Morgan Jones
- Kim Dickens as Madison Clark
- Colman Domingo as Victor Strand
- Danay Garcia as Luciana Galvez
- Austin Amelio as Dwight
- Mo Collins as Sarah Rabinowitz
- Alexa Nisenson as Charlie
- Karen David as Grace Mukherjee
- Christine Evangelista as Sherry
- Jenna Elfman as June Dorie
- Rubén Blades as Daniel Salazar
- Daniel Sharman as Troy Otto
- Jonathan Medina as Adrian
- Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia Clark
Fear the Walking Dead season 8 release date and reviews
Fear the Walking Dead premiered its eighth season on May 14, 2023, and the final episode of the series aired on November 19, 2023.
Following in the footsteps of a number of series as of late, the 12-episode season was released in two parts, taking a break after airing the first six episodes weekly before delivering on the final block of six starting with episode 7 on October 22.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a rating of 60% based on five reviews, with an average score of 7/10, and a 41% audience score with over 100 ratings. Zaki Hasan of The Wrap wrote, “This installment begins with a compelling hook, boo-hiss baddies lined up and the stage set for a suitably epic showdown with some degree of finality to it.”
ComicBook.com‘s Cameron Bonomolo review states, “Whether it’s a suspenseful sequence set on a waterlogged and walker-logged houseboat in a zombie-infested swamp, or watching Madison and Morgan scuffling in a figurative tug-o-war, it’s a solid start to a season that gets better with each episode.”
What is Fear the Walking Dead season 8 about?
Fear the Walking Dead season 8 dealt with the return of Madison Clark, concluding with her heading off towards her former home in Los Angeles with her daughter Alicia.
Fan-favorite character Madison had been long-presumed dead, but like in all the best zombie movies, death isn’t the end! She — not actually dead, or undead for that matter — came back in the season 7 finale and went on to play a crucial role in season 8.
The season focused mostly on the group living under the rule of a morally shadowy organization called PADRE, which was seeking to rapidly expand. By the end of the season, Madison’s apparent sacrifice led to it being renamed MADRE in her honor. This is why she decided to let her friends believe she had died, in order to make MADRE better.
Co-showrunner Andrew Chambliss told Entertainment Weekly that taking Madison and Alicia back to Los Angeles as reunited survivors was a perfect ending. He said: “It felt like this was a show that started with Madison, the matriarch of a blended family in Los Angeles, so it felt like a fitting end to it would be Madison with a new blended family made up of her daughter, and then Alicia’s surrogate daughter and Madison’s surrogate granddaughter heading back to the place it all started.”
Does Fear the Walking Dead season 8 have a trailer?
The first Fear the Walking Dead season 8 trailer was released on February 25, 2023, and we’ve got lots of goodies since then.
The first teaser trailer gave insight into what happened to Morgan and Madison after the latter was presumed dead. We see Madison working for PADRE, imprisoned by their oppressive (and seemingly worse-than-ever) regime, but there also seems to be a rebellion brewing, with the teaser ending with Madison holding someone at gunpoint…
You can watch the full trailer below:
We have seen other trailers, weekly promos, and more. The most recent was a teaser for the final episodes from New York Comic Con 2023.
Where can I watch Fear the Walking Dead season 8?
Fear the Walking Dead season 8 aired on the AMC network and can be streamed on AMC+.
Fans in the US and UK can watch season 8 on the AMC channel, where it aired weekly. If you’re in the UK, AMC is exclusive to BT. If you’re a cable cutter, head over to AMC’s streaming app.
How many episodes of Fear the Walking Dead are there?
There are 12 episodes of Fear the Walking Dead season 8. The season was also split into two halves, with six episodes airing at first before a mid-season break.
The first six episodes arrived first, airing weekly on AMC before the series concluded with the second half of season 8. This gave us time to catch up and build some tension for the final run, which is much appreciated. After 113 episodes in total, Fear the Walking Dead has finally closed its book for good.
While we may be at the end of a journey here, you can still find out about how to watch Daryl Dixon, and our answer to whether there will ever be a The Walking Dead season 12. You might also be pleased to hear that Dead City and Daryl Dixon were renewed for season 2.