Critic Reviews

While this format is uneven by its very nature, I’m especially encouraged by the shifting tones these stories attempt, from whimsy to the usual gory suspense with a side of existential despair. Dare I say that at its best, Tales even evokes Rod Serling‘s classic The Twilight Zone in its imaginative expansion of genre and mastery of short-form storytelling. [15 - 28 Aug 2022, p.5]

If you still like The Walking Dead, you’ll likely still enjoy Tales of the Walking Dead just fine. But if you’re looking for something transcendently smart like Black Mirror, or even just off the wall weird and unexpected like Shudder’s Creepshow, you won’t find that here.

While the show is most definitely not going to win over everyone and may even be a little too odd for many tastes, that sensibility is exactly what makes it stand out. If you are going to really make an anthology show, then you ought to use it as an opportunity to make bizarre and bold choices. For all its flaws, Tales of the Walking Dead is the first time the show has been genuinely unexpected and inventive in a long while.

Viewers who had previously given up on the franchise might appreciate the anthology format, with its emphasis on stand-alone stories (no fighting the same villain for multiple seasons here!). The show also delivers the usual zombie action, so long-time viewers should also be satisfied.

As with most anthologies, your mileage may vary with Tales Of The Walking Dead, depending on which episode you watch. But the performances are entertaining enough to make up for some fractured storytelling and weird, overly positive vibe.

“Tales of the Walking Dead” offers a mixed bag of standalone stories, but a talented cast and a few wild storytelling experiments don’t quite manage to breathe new life into the franchise.

[“Blair/Gina” is] the episode that most feels like an expansion of what The Walking Dead can be, instead of a mere rehashing of it. If only more of Tales took advantage of that freedom.

The latest extension of "The Walking Dead" "universe," if you can really call it that, Tales of the Walking Dead possesses the chance to explore and play with this world-gone-mad scenario, but mostly squanders it. Telling a self-contained story in each hour, think of it as a zombie-fied bonus effort that doesn't kill much more than time.