(**Spoiler Alert**) Rick Grimes may be gone from The Walking Dead flagship series after being spirited off in a mysterious helicopter (see "AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ Story Diverging Wildly From Comics"), but Andrew Lincoln will reprise the role for a series of movies from AMC Studios, according to an interview with Walking Dead CCO Scott M. Gimple in Entertainment Weekly.  The movies will reveal what happens after the flight, and Gimple promises they will be “big, epic entertainments.” The first of a planned trilogy will likely begin filming next year. Despite lackluster ratings for its ninth season, The Walking Dead remains a top-rated cable show on Sunday night (see “Batwoman First Look, 'TWD' Hits Ratings Low, 'Dresden Files' and 'Long Lost' Optioned, 'TWD' Actor Passes, More 'Marvel Rising' Specials), and AMC remains dedicated to the franchise, with future films, specials, and limited series revisiting beloved characters and exploring other areas of the universe (see “AMC's 'The Walking Dead' Plans”).

Deadly Class has a new trailer and poster. The trailer has put the protagonists of the series in detention, and several of the criminals-in-training at Kings Dominion provide Marcus (Benjamin Wadsworth) with tips for surviving the academy for the deadly arts. Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), Lana Condor (X-Men: Apocalypse), Maria Gabriela de Faria (Yo Soy Franky), Luke Tennie (Shock and Awe), Liam James (The Killing), and Michel Duval (Queen of the South) also star in the series. The show based on Rick Remender and Wes Craig’s Image Comics series debuts on Syfy on January 16 (see “New Trailers for 'Deadly Class,' 'Good Omens,' 'American Gods,' and 'Marvel's Daredevil'”).

Genre everyman Will Patton (Falling Skies, Halloween), has been added to the cast of DC Universe’s Swamp Thing. He will play Avery Sunderland, a seemingly benevolent businessman who desires to harness the power of the swamp for profit (via Deadline). Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen has been cast to play his wife Maria, a new character who is drawn into the mysteries of the swamp after the return of Abby Arcane reawakens Maria’s grief over her daughter Shawna’s death. They join previously cast Jeryl Prescott (see “'Swamp Thing' Finds Its Madame Xanadu”), Jennifer Beals, Crystal Reed, Maria Sten, and Derek Mears. The series is being directed by Underworld helmer Len Wiseman and will air sometime in 2019 (see “AMC's 'The Walking Dead' Plans, 'Star Wars Resistance' Debut, Shudder Is a 'Lucky Man,' 'Swamp Thing' Cast, Live Action 'Ladybug & Cat Noir'”).

Penny Dreadful is returning to television. Showtime has ordered Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, a followup series from Penny Dreadful creator John Logan reports Deadline. Logan, who also wrote and executive produced the original series, will assume those roles on the followup, which is set in 1938 Los Angeles and will draw from the Mexican-American culture of the area to follow the conflict between the followers of Santa Muerte and the Devil. Production is expected to begin in 2019, and further details on the plot and casting are pending. The original series, which starred Eva Green, Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton, Rory Kinnear, Billie Piper, and Harry Treadaway, was set in the Victorian era and ran for three seasons until 2016. The story has continued in comics from Titan Comics (see “'Penny Dreadful' Finds New Life in Comics”).

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is coming to TV thanks to BBC America, which ordered an eight-part series called The Watch, based on the Ankh-Morpork City Watch subseries reports Deadline. The project has been in development since March (see “BBC Snatches Up Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld'”). Pratchett’s Narrativia, which is now run by Rhianna Pratchett and Rob Wilkins, is co-producing the series, which is written by Simon Allen (The Musketeers) and executive produced by Wilkins, Hilary Salmon (Luther), Ben Donald, and Phil Collinson (Doctor Who). Pratchett’s extensive Discworld series in notoriously difficult to adapt given the dozens of characters and locales in the books. Commander Sam Vimes, Lady Sybil Ramkin, Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson, Captain Angua von Uberwald, and Sergeant Cheery Littlebottom will reportedly make an appearance, as will Death. Casting has not been announced. Another Pratchett book, Good Omens, which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman, is coming to series on Amazon in 2019 (see “New Trailers for 'Deadly Class,' 'Good Omens,' 'American Gods,' and 'Marvel's Daredevil'”).