Love is all that matters. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) search for one another in AMC’s upcomingTWDspin-off,The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. And while the show’s premiere is still a week and a half away, reviews are starting to trickle in on Rotten Tomatoes. And at the time of this writing,The Ones Who Liveregisters an impressive 88% on the Tomatometer. Cameron Bonomolo of ComicBook.com writes:
“The Ones Who Live plays out as a conspiracy thriller against the backdrop of the post-zombie apocalypse. Part Prison Break and part World War Z, this is The Walking Dead on the scope and scale of a zombie movie blockbuster.”
Kaiya Shunyata of RogerEbert.com says:
Each time Lincoln and Gurira are on screen it becomes clear that while the spinoffs have been entertaining, they were missing the kind of sincerity these two actors bring to the table.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
Sarabeth Pollock of What to Watch adds:
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is a triumph, lovingly created by TWD fans for TWD fans.
Lincoln portrayedTWD’smain character, Rick Grimes, for over eight seasons on AMC’s original series,The Walking Dead. However, in Season 9, Episode 5’sWhat Comes Next, an explosion seemingly kills Rick — at least in the minds of his fellow survivors. But the fans who watched the carnage unfold knew better.
TWD Spin-Off Scores on Rotten Tomatoes
A little over a year afterRick Grimes (Lincoln) mysteriously “died”onThe Walking Dead, Michonne (Gurira) ended up departing the show in Season 10, Episode 13’sWhat We Became. Now, nearly five years have passed. The world is still overrun by zombies, but Rick and Michonne are a step closer to finding one another. And so far, the reviews forThe Walking Dead: The Ones WhoLive has resulted in a Tomatometer rating near 90% onRotten Tomatoes. Tessa Smith ofMama’s Geekywrites:
Those who have been waiting forever for Rick to return will be thrilled! Feels like top tier The Walking Dead while also bringing something fresh and unique.
There’s just so muchTWDcontentfor fans to consume. However, at the time of this writing,The Ones Who Liveboasts the best overall Tomatometer rating of allThe Walking Deadspin-offs:Dead City(80%),Tales of the Walking Dead(74%),Fear the Walking Dead(73%),Daryl Dixon(71%) andWorld Beyond(46%). Michel Ghanem of The Wrap writes:
At its best, it’s a powerhouse showcase for just how good Lincoln and Gurira are in these roles. But do not expect a radical reinvention of the franchise.
Gissane Sophia of Marvelous Geeks Media says:
The series excels through the performances, bringing profound emotions center stage, which will be the very thing long-time fans adore.
Unfortunately, it can’t all be good news forThe Ones Who Live, as Chase Hutchinson of Collider scores the upcomingTWDseries only 5 out of 10. Hutchinson wrote in the publication’s review:
For a series about what comes next after the world as we know it has well and truly died, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is lacking in life when it needs to revitalize itself, and the franchise, most.
David Opie of Digital Spy adds:
“The Ones Who Live doesn’t live up to expectations. It’s not bad per se, and there are moments of greatness, but given how long Walking Dead fans have waited for Rick to return, it’s not quite the grand comeback we were hoping for.”
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Livepremieres Sunday, February 25 on AMC and AMC+
