Andrew Lincoln's decision to leave The Walking Dead disappointed fans, though it didn't take long until we learned of plans for Rick Grimes to return in what was then set to be a movie trilogy.
It's since become yet another small screen spin-off, of course, and The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live finally premiered on AMC yesterday evening (after leaking online a few days ago). So, what became of Rick following his apparent death in season 9?
Five years after what happened on the bridge, we learn Rick has been forced to serve a six-year stint clearing walkers for the CRM in exchange for being allowed into their city. He's made numerous escape attempts, all of which failed, including hacking off his hand in a bid to escape a guard he'd been attached to.
Yes, after The Walking Dead failed to take Rick's hand - which happened when he crossed paths with The Governor in the comics - this spin-off finally makes it happen and later gives him an impressive new prosthetic.
Rick eventually joins the CRM's military unit because it will give him a better opportunity to escape. That doesn't pan out and, after contemplating suicide, the survivor ultimately accepts his new status quo and attempts to not think about his wife and kids; instead, he focuses on trying to save the world, starting by converting a college into a new CRM base.
More years pass and we find Rick piloting a helicopter which is blasted out of the sky. A shadowy figure kills the CRM soldiers with a sword and, just as Rick is about to meet the same fate, his would-be killer stops and unmasks..it's Michonne!
Recently, it was put to Danai Gurira that many fans abandoned The Walking Dead before it ended, so why watch The Ones Who Live?
"Can I be really honest? I didn’t watch all of 'The Walking Dead,'" the Black Panther star admitted. "So I understand that. But I’m still very interested in this show. It does stand on its own. I mean, keeping up with all 11, 12 seasons? I did not. Andy had left by Season 9, and even if you stopped watching in Season 6, that’s when Rick and Michonne get together."
"You’ll be like, 'OK, got it.' There’s flashbacks. Audiences today have no problem catching up with things - the trick with audiences today is to keep ahead of them. Do you want to see a unique take on epic love? I’ve never seen a love story like this. If they want to watch a unique apocalyptic love story, this is it."
Check out a clip and promo for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live below.
In another world, built on a war against the dead, Rick Grimes and Michonne attempt to find each other and who they were.