By Helen Murphy
Illustrator: Marie Mohanna; Visual Designer: Rebecca Hoskins
But it turns out that was only one small slice of the apocalypse. There’s now an expansive Walking Dead universe: spinoffs following beloved characters like Daryl Dixon, the prequel Fear the Walking Dead (set in Los Angeles), the anthology series Tales From the Walking Dead, and much more. But in 2023, The Walking Dead: Dead City moved the apocalypse action to a brand new setting: New York City, baby.
Dead City, which returns for a second season on May 4 on AMC and AMC+, is one of the many new chapters within the Walking Dead universe. Season one followed fan-favorite character Maggie forming a (very) unlikely alliance with bad boy Negan in order to find her son Hershel after he was kidnapped by a former associate of Negan’s. (You may remember that Negan killed Maggie’s husband — and Hershel’s father — Glenn in one of the most violent and shocking moments of the original series.)
he original Walking Dead series was primarily set in the South, featuring characters with Southern drawls fighting off bloodthirsty walkers amid the wide-open landscapes of Georgia and Virginia.
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Central Park
The Brooklyn Bridge
The Subway
The Statue of Liberty
Madison Square Garden
Radio City Music Hall
Central Park is a peaceful oasis within present-day New York City, a place to be among greenery, relax, and picnic by the lake. Not so much in the Walking Dead universe. The park, shown briefly in season one, is set to play a much larger role: It’s home to the Foragers, a new group that Maggie, Herschel, and the New Babylon survivors will meet in season two, who have set up shop in the park’s boathouse.
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Some of the most exciting action scenes — and most important plot points — in season one took place in a post-apocalyptic Madison Square Garden. In season one, the Croat (a former engineer) lived in MSG with his followers, using methane from the city’s piles of dead bodies to power the electricity of the former concert and sports venue. Thanks to the methane, MSG had lights, music, and even the occasional cage match.
The Walking Dead: Dead City season two premieres May 4 at 9 p.m. on AMC, and also streams exclusively on AMC+.
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Click around below to explore the Manhattan of 'The Walking Dead.'
This iconic concert venue will be a new location in
season two — and it’ll look more familiar than you might think. In season one, we found out that the
Croat had discovered how to use methane gas from dead bodies to create power. Radio City is known for the neon lights and letters adorning its exterior, and
the Croat’s methane gas technology means those lights will be burning bright even amid the apocalypse.
The subway system is the most efficient way for current-day New Yorkers to get around, and turns out it’s also pretty helpful in an apocalypse. In season one, Maggie, Negan, and their group use a subway tunnel to sneak into Madison Square Garden where they confront the Croat and reunite with Hershel. Their plan works — though the subways aren’t exactly safe, thanks to the walkers. (And yeah, there are probably still rats.)
Along with the subway and other passages in and out of the city, the Brooklyn Bridge was destroyed when the authorities closed off Manhattan at the start of the outbreak. (Sorry to those Manhattanites who were hoping to escape to Brooklyn or Long Island!) We saw a shot of Negan and Maggie looking up at the blown-up Brooklyn Bridge in season one, and we’ll see more of it in season two, including in a mysterious drawing by Hershel. Its destruction is also featured in the show’s opening credits.
The Statue of Liberty wasn’t a major part of season one, but it was mentioned in the pilot episode, in an anecdote that Negan tells Maggie. When he was a kid, his dad brought him a souvenir of the statue after a work trip to the city: “I just couldn't imagine how something so small could also be so giant,” he says. We’re set to see more of Miss Liberty in season two — let’s just hope she’s in better shape than some of the other destroyed landmarks.
Central Park
Radio City Music Hall
The show’s version of New York City is, unsurprisingly, bleak. At the start of the walker outbreak, all access into and out of Manhattan was cut off after the city became an early epicenter. The Brooklyn Bridge was blown up and subway tunnels destroyed, meaning the only people left are either hardy survivors or walkers. In season one, Maggie and Negan team up with a group of survivors called the Tribespeople and (spoiler alert!) find Maggie’s son living with Negan’s former frenemy, the Croat, who has set up a nice life for himself and his followers in Madison Square Garden. Along the way, they encounter many New York City landmarks.
Season two will expand Dead City’s in-universe New York City even further, with glimpses of places like Central Park, Radio City Music Hall, and the Statue of Liberty.
Post-apocalyptic New York City looks a little different in 'The Walking Dead: Dead City.'
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Madison Square Garden
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The Subway
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The Brooklyn Bridge
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The Statue of Liberty
