While “The Walking Dead: Dead City” topping the O.G. series in the Rotten Tomatoes ratings likely comes a surprise, RT scores for “The Walking Dead” still land it in second place. But its 79% Fresh rating isn’t enough to hold that spot alone, with “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” slotting into second place boasting a current critical score of 79%, itself. And given the unflinching fan-favorite status bestowed upon Daryl Dixon (as played by Norman Reedus) in the world of “The Walking Dead,” it should come as no surprise.
The success of “Daryl Dixon” should be particularly vindicating for Reedus and the series’ creators, given a massive pre-production shakeup likely altered the original concept of the series dramatically. Successes aside, it is worth noting that neither “Daryl Dixon,” nor “Dead City” would even exist had “The Walking Dead” not so painstakingly laid the groundwork for the franchise’s stark post-apocalyptic world.
As for the other three “The Walking Dead” spin-offs, the lone season of the almost instantly overlooked anthology “Tales of the Walking Dead” took the third spot via a 74% critical score. The first, and oft-divisive “TWD” spinoff, “Fear the Waking Dead,” slotted into fourth on the strength of a 73% score. And to the surprise of few, the intriguing, but much-maligned “The Walking Dead: World Beyond” claimed the bottom spot with a brutal 46% critical rating.
