Norman Reedus Bids Goodbye To The Walking Dead Ahead Of Daryl Dixon Season 4 Release

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon star Norman Reedus just shared an emotional message to fans as he walks away from the character that’s been in his life for the past 16 years.

Reedus began his journey with the zombie apocalypse franchise during the first season of the original Walking Dead series in 2010. After starting in a recurring capacity as Daryl Dixon, his role quickly expanded, and he became a series regular for the remaining 10 seasons. In recent years, Reedus has had his own spinoff, which is coming to an end.

After wrapping production on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 4, Reedus took a trip to Mongolia. Now that he’s back, the actor is reflecting on the end of an era after saying goodbye to the show.

He shared a carousel of photos on Instagram from the set of Daryl Dixon, including images of him with a clapperboard, drinking champagne from the bottle, hugging the cast and crew, and listening to farewell speeches alongside her longtime Walking Dead co-star Melissa McBride, who plays Carol Peletier.

Norman Reedus' Instagram post about end of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon filming — Norman Reedus’ Instagram post about end of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon filming

In the Instagram post’s caption, Reedus said that “the feeling of accomplishment when it was over was just amazing.” He added that after all the hard work he and the rest of the cast and crew put into this final season, “you’re gonna feel it” when it airs.

“It was a special season. I can’t wait for you to see it. It hits just way different this time,” Reedus concluded.

“Finally going through these photos to check off from the last episode now that I’m back from Mongolia. It was really hard to kill any of them. I didn’t post any of those here, but I can’t wait for people to see this show, the crew, best I’ve ever worked with. The feeling of accomplishment when it was over was just amazing. Such hard work and I so much hart [sic] put into this, I think you’re gonna feel it. It was a special season. I can’t wait for you to see it. It hits just way different this time.”

Reedus had already appeared in several movies and shows before 2010, but being cast as Daryl on The Walking Dead catapulted his career to new heights.

Based on Robert Kirkman’s comics, The Walking Dead aired for 11 seasons, ending in 2022. The franchise expanded with multiple spinoffs, first with Fear the Walking Dead in 2015, The Walking Dead: World Beyond in 2020 and Tales of the Walking Dead in 2022.

After The Walking Dead ended in 2022, AMC debuted two new spinoffs the following year with cast members from the original series: The Walking Dead: Dead City with Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan and Lauren Cohan’s Maggie Greene, and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon with Reedus. (Another spinoff called The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live premiered in 2024.)

McBride was originally supposed to co-headline with Reedus on Daryl Dixon from the start, but filming in Europe proved to be difficult for the actress at the time. She eventually made a guest appearance and then became a full-time cast member beginning with season 2.

Their co-stars on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon have included Clémence Poésy, Louis Puech Scigliuzzi, Laïka Blanc-Francard, Anne Charrier, Romain Levi, Adam Nagaitis, Joel de la Fuente, Eduardo Noriega, Óscar Jaenada, Alexandra Masangkay, Hugo Arbués and Candela Saitta.

AMC announced last summer that The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 4 would be the farewell run for the Reedus and McBride-starring spinoff. Now filming has wrapped, and the final eight-episode installment is expected to premiere later this year.

Speaking of spinoffs, The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 premieres July 26, and there hasn’t been any official word from the network over whether that show will continue on after The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon ends.