Why is Maggie with Negan in The Walking Dead: Dead City?

The Walking Dead: Dead City is an American show that first aired on June 18, 2023. It is a spin-off of The Walking Dead. The show is created by Eli Jorné, who is also the showrunner of the show. There are 2 seasons; the 2nd season premiered on May 4, 2025. The 1st season has 6 episodes and 2nd season will have 8 episodes. The well-known characters from the original show, Maggie and Negan, are reprising their roles in the show.

The cast of the show includes Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Gaius Charles, Željko Ivanek, Mahina Napoleon, Lisa Emery, and Logan Kim. The story of the show follows Maggie and Negan as they journey together into a destroyed New York City. Maggie and Negan have a long and painful history. The show gives us a reason why these two are forced to team up despite their troubled past.

Why is Maggie with Negan in The Walking Dead: Dead City?

Maggie joins forces with Negan in Dead City because she needs his help. In the spin-off, Maggie's son, Hershel, is kidnapped by a dangerous group, the Burazi, led by the Croat, and taken to Manhattan, which is now overrun by walkers and dangerous people. Maggie knows she cannot rescue her son alone, so she turns to Negan, who knows how to deal with violent and unpredictable enemies. Throughout the show, we see Maggie struggle with her emotions. She remembers what Negan did to her family, but she is willing to set aside her feelings for the sake of her son.

Even though Maggie doesn’t trust Negan completely, she knows he has experience in leading people and surviving in tough situations. Negan also has a past connection with the Croat, the man who kidnapped Hershel. While she still carries the pain of losing Glenn, Maggie chooses to work with Negan out of necessity, not friendship. In an interview with Collider, Eli Jorné, creator of the show, talked about Maggie and Negan working together. He said, "How do you work with and cooperate with, and how do you trust, if you have to work with the person who murdered the person you loved most in this life? And vice versa for Negan, how do you work with the person whose husband you murdered? Right away, to me, I was excited to get messy with that unfinished business."

Who plays Maggie in The Walking Dead: Dead City?

Lauren Cohan plays the role of Maggie in the show. She is an American actress born on January 7, 1982, in New Jersey, United States. She began her acting career in the mid-2000s. She made her acting debut with the film Casanova (2005). She gained popularity with roles in Supernatural (2007), The Vampire Diaries (2010), and Chuck (2011). She got her big break in 2011 when she joined the cast of The Walking Dead. Cohen's other work includes Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Boy (2016), Mile 22 (2018), Invincible (2021), etc.

Lauren first appeared as Maggie in Season 2 of The Walking Dead, which aired in 2011. Over time, Maggie became one of the show’s most loved characters. In an interview with EW, Lauren talked about how she feels about playing Maggie and working in The Walking Dead: Dead City. She said, "Jeff and I know the ropes, and then we just get to be here with a whole group of new people. These are characters that we've been with for a really long time, but now we do it in this whole new landscape with New York, which is so cool." She further added, "When people say to me, 'Wow, you've been doing that show so long,' I say, 'And I hope I do it forever.'"