'Walking Dead' spinoff filmed in Jersey set to premiere 6/18

Trey Santiago-Hudson stars as Jano, Lauren Cohan as Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan in "The Walking Dead: Dead City," which was filmed in Newark, Plainfield and Rahway.

From left: Trey Santiago-Hudson stars as Jano, Lauren Cohan as Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan in "The Walking Dead: Dead City," which was filmed in Newark, Plainfield and Rahway. - PETER KRAMER/AMC

Matthew Fazelpoor//June 9, 2023//

Listen to this article

While the latest spinoff from AMC’s “The Walking Dead” is set in postapocalyptic New York City cut off from its mainland, it was actually shot right here in the great Garden State.

Marking the latest high-profile production to emerge from the state’s burgeoning film and television industry, the six-episode season of “The Walking Dead: Dead City” – the fourth spinoff in the franchise’s universe – premieres June 18 at 9 p.m. on AMC and AMC+.

The series follows Maggie and Negan from the original series, with Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, respectively, reprising their roles, as they explore postapocalyptic New York City. Eli Jorne, who wrote and co-executive produced the original series, serves as showrunner, while Scott Gimple, who serves as chief content officer of the franchise, oversaw the series.

In April, the state officially launched its Film Ready New Jersey Program, designed to support municipalities and counties as they work to attract productions to their communities and market themselves as filming destinations.

Much of the filming for “The Walking Dead: Dead City” took place on the soundstage inside the former Izod Center, while various locations throughout the state were also used for filming, such as:

51 Port Terminal in Bayonne
The Mushroom Tunnels in Cedar Grove
Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve
Kearny Warehouse
The Ivy in Weehawken
South Mountain Reservation (Turtle Back Rock Picnic Area) in West Orange
Franklin Avenue in Midland Park
Art Factory and City Hall area in Paterson
Hoboken Terminal and Union Dry Dock
Settler Ridge Farm and the Great Swamp National Refuge in Basking Ridge
Holmdel Motor Inn and Paradigm Hedge in Holmdel
Clean Land in Kenilworth

A number of scenes were shot in Newark on Academy, Commerce, Halsey, James and Washington streets; in Military Park; the National Newark Building; Express Shoe Repair; Newark Symphony Hall; Dayton Street School; and an apartment on Lake Street.

Filming also took place on location in Plainfield and Rahway.

For use as basecamps and crew parking, the production rented Temple Emanuel in Franklin Lakes, iPark in Hoboken, New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and First Park Baptist Church in Plainfield, Boys & Girls Club in Union, Pilgrim Shopping Plaza in Verona, Wagner Farm Arboretum in Warren, and Essex House in West Orange.

According to the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission (NJMPTVC), AMC hired 100 crew members and 1,100 cast members and extras during filming of the show, spending over $72 million in the state for labor, goods, and services.

“’The Walking Dead: Dead City’ required an extraordinary array of challenging locations, but New Jersey provided the show’s creative team with just what they needed,” said Secretary of State Tahesha Way, whose office oversees the NJMPTVC. “This is proof, once again, that New Jersey is Film Ready.”