Fear The Walking Dead Season 8 - What We Know So Far

Since "The Walking Dead" premiered on AMC in October 2010, the adaptation of Robert Kirkman's seminal graphic novel series has spawned a multimedia empire that includes live-action spinoffs, video games, board games, and more. In more recent years, however, "The Walking Dead" franchise has approached the end of an era. "The Walking Dead: World Beyond" ended its two-season run earlier this month. The original "Walking Dead" TV series debuted its final season in August 2021, and AMC plans to conclude the series in 2022 (via Deadline). While there are plans for three standalone Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) movies and a spinoff-TV series starring fan-favorites Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Pelletier (Melissa McBride), the only show that's still alive and kicking for the foreseeable future is "Fear the Walking Dead."

So far, "Fear the Walking Dead" has aired seven seasons and counting since 2015, with the Season 7 mid-season finale airing on December 5, 2021. The good news is, AMC didn't leave "Fear the Walking Dead" fans in much suspense about the show's future, as the network officially renewed the series for its eighth season, right after the mid-season finale aired.

Here's everything we know so far about "Fear the Walking Dead" Season 8.

At this point, "Fear the Walking Dead" Season 8 doesn't yet have a confirmed release date, but we can make an educated guess based on the show's current release schedule, including the release date for the back-half of Season 7.

As reported by Variety, on the "Talking Dead" episode that aired immediately after the Season 7 mid-season finale, AMC announced that "Fear the Walking Dead" had been renewed for Season 8. AMC also released a trailer for Season 7B, which you can check out on YouTube. In the teaser, AMC announced that Season 7B will begin airing on April 17, 2022. (Per Variety, it will also be available one week early on AMC Plus). With Season 7 still having eight episodes to go, that puts the Season 7B finale at mid-June 2022. 

Most likely, Season 8 will arrive in late 2022 (via Newsweek). Since it's taking about five months between the Season 7 mid-season finale and the Season 7B premiere, look for around the same timeframe between the Season 7B finale and the Season 8 premiere. So, expect "Fear the Walking Dead" Season 8 to debut around November 2022. 

Fans got more big news on the latest episode of "Talking Dead": fan favorite Kim Dickens, who plays Madison Clark, will be returning to "Fear the Walking Dead." First, she'll be appearing in the second half of Season 7 starting in April 2022, and then she'll be elevated to series-regular for the eighth season (via Deadline).

As fans of "Fear the Walking Dead" no doubt remember, Madison was a major character on "Fear the Walking Dead's" first four seasons before she appeared to sacrifice herself in an explosion. AMC hasn't indicated what her role will be on the show going forward, but no doubt she'll tie heavily into the Season 7B plot — see below. 

Otherwise, it's too early to say which cast members from Season 7 might be continuing with the show into Season 8, since multiple characters would end up meeting their demises in the back half of Season 7. For now, the Season 7B cast members include: Lennie James (Morgan), Alycia Debnam-Carey (Alicia), Colman Domingo (Victor), Danay Garcia (Luciana), Austin Amelio (Dwight), Mo Collins (Sarah), Alexa Nisenson (Charlie), Karen David (Grace), Christine Evangelista (Sherry), Colby Hollman (Wes), Jenna Elfman (June), Keith Carradine (John Dorie Sr.), and Ruben Blades (Daniel) (via ComicBook.com).

At this point, Season 8 of "Fear the Walking Dead" doesn't yet have an official synopsis, and that's unlikely to change before Season 7B concludes next June. The good news is, AMC has released a synopsis for Season 7B:

"In the second half of Season 7, months have passed after the nuclear blast and the only one thriving is Victor Strand. Having built a fiefdom, he callously selects who will have a chance at life. The other members of the group have suffered immensely, but out of that, has come a fierce determination to live, even if it means taking Strand's Tower by force and continuing the search for Padre, a mythical place no one is sure really exists.

Alicia, now the reluctant leader to Teddy's (John Glover) former followers, is plagued by a mysterious illness and the repercussions of her past actions. Morgan (Lennie James), trying to maintain hope that he will be reunited with his family, knows Alicia is key to their survival. With Alicia declaring war, Strand's paranoia and personal vendettas grow, and with that, new threats emerge from all sides" (via ComicBook.com).

It would be premature to speculate on what Season 8 might look like before we know how Season 7B shakes out, but based on that synopsis, there should be plenty of action to come.