It’s difficult to imagine The Walking Dead without Norman Reedus’ Daryl. He was introduced early in the first season and quickly became a fan favorite character, rising to the de facto lead after Andrew Lincoln left the show. As such, he’s long commanded a hefty pay packet. In fact, back in 2018, Variety reported that Reedus was earning $1M per episode and from the sounds of it, that looks set to continue.
Leaker Daniel Richtman is claiming that Reedus will receive $20M to play Daryl in The Walking Dead’s eleventh and final season, then a further $20M for the first run of the upcoming Daryl and Carol spinoff. At this point in the show, they’re unlikely to cut his wages, so this all rings true to me.
It’s also yet more indication that AMC is willing to heavily invest in the future of The Walking Dead. Reports say that while the core show may be wrapping up, the franchise is planned to run for another decade. This will include a number of spinoffs and multimedia projects. Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond have further seasons to come, there’s new anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead, a rumored comedy outing, a show with an LGBTQ focus and a TV project exploring an as-yet-undefined villain.
I reckon Daryl has a good chance of appearing in several of these, too. His spinoff series is described as a road trip story that could see him running into characters from across the universe and an appearance by him in any show would certainly spark interest from committed fans.
And you know what? Norman Reedus is worth it. Even when The Walking Dead has gotten a little boring or repetitive, he’s been hugely watchable and charismatic and the Daryl-focused episodes are generally season highlights. So as far as I’m concerned, the more of him the better.
The Walking Dead commences season 10C on February 28th, with season 11 expected to air in late 2021.
