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September 4 - 10, 2023 Page 3 By Dana Simpson Premiering Sunday, Sept. 10, on AMC and AMC+, "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon" sees the return of Norman Reedus ("The Boondock Saints," 1999) as on-screen anti-hero Daryl Dixon. Created by David Zabel ("ER"), "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon" is the fifth spinoff from the flagship series, hereafter referred to as TWD, and takes place after TWD's 11 seasons of horror. And while view- ers have already gathered their fair share of Daryl details since his first appearance in TWD's Season 1 epi- sode "Tell It to the Frogs," audiences have never seen the troubled "walk- er"-fighting hero quite like this. "Daryl Dixon" follows the titu- lar character as he "washes ashore in France and struggles to piece together how he got there and why" (per AMC). According to the official synopsis, "[T]he series tracks his journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home," noting that as "he makes the journey ... the connections he forms along the way complicate his ultimate plan." The title of this latest TWD spinoff was announced in October 2022, which is also when filming began in Paris. Despite AMC's initial desire to produce a series that followed another TWD character, Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride, "The Mist," 2007), the network eventually landed on "Daryl Dixon" as a result of scheduling conflicts with McBride. That said, McBride is expected to reprise her role as Carol in at least one of the premiere sea- son's six episodes. In fact, as mentioned by Vanity Fair writer Derek Lawrence in his November 2022 article titled "Nor- man Reedus Unpacks the Walking Dead Finale and His 'F—-ing Great' Spin-Off," Daryl himself made a nod toward his own future series in the final episodes of the flagship series' finale. ACROSS 1 Legal drama about a talk show host's former ca- reer 5 "Holy cow!" 8 "Arabian Nights" menace 11 perlman of "Cheers" 12 message from someone who's all thumbs 13 Ending of some emails 14 Confidence 16 Animation frame 17 "The Jetsons" maid 18 Granola grain 19 Star of defunct sitcom "Single parents" 24 Triumphant cry 25 "The boys" star Karl 28 Kramer's first name, in "Seinfeld" 31 Cinematic Harry potter star Rupert 32 Over-stimulated 33 Defunct sitcom "___ Girl" 34 See 19 Across 40 Rocks at the bar 42 broadcast medium 43 pay-___-view 44 Appetizing; with pleasant taste 48 bruin legend bobby 49 "Dear" advice-giver 50 "better Call ___" 51 "The man Who Knew Too much" (1956) star Doris 52 Eavesdropping org. 53 End-of-the-week cry DOWN 1 Car accessory 2 Sounds of hesitation 3 "___ misérables" 4 Actress Dern who won an Emmy for "big Little Lies" 5 Lamp-bound spirits 6 be exceptionally good at 7 Hot time in Quebec 8 put back together 9 performance halls 10 Kind of classic film 12 Item on a to-do list 15 Howard of "Happy Days" 19 Dash gauge 20 Sailor's hail 21 Disapproving sound 22 Car nut 23 Itinerary info: Abbr. 26 Turn _ ___ profit 27 packing info: Abbr. 29 Sea, to Cousteau 30 "Are you a man ___ ___ mouse?" 35 Olive ___ (military uni- forms) 36 Nero's successor 37 "An apple ___ ___ ..." 38 Slowing, in mus. 39 Comedy "tribute" to an actor or comedian 40 Apple music player 41 "Arrested Development's" George michael: michael ___ 44 Give a scathing review to a new show 45 Tea holder 46 Him, to Henri 47 Will Ferrell Christmas flick CoverStory Dixon days: Daryl dominates new 'Walking Dead' series Solution is on page 2. Louis Puech Scigliuzzi and Norman Reedus in "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon"

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