Kim Dickens Returning to ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ as Madison Clark in Season 7

One of the biggest mistakes in The Walking Dead history is about to be corrected: Kim Dickens will return as Madison Clark in the second half of Fear the Walking Dead‘s seventh season, as just announced on Talking Dead. And not only that, she’ll continue as a series regular in the also just announced eighth season of the series.

“If there were a Mt. Deadmore, Kim Dickens’ face would be on it. Madison Clark is a foundational character to TWDU — heroic, complex, an everyperson who becomes a warrior and then a force of benevolence,” Scott M. Gimple, Chief Content Officer of The Walking Dead Universe, said via a statement provided to Decider. “Kim Dickens’ raw talent, strength, and brilliance will electrify TWDU once more and we couldn’t be luckier to have her back.”

For those not in the know, Madison Clark was one of the original, main cast-members of Fear the Walking Dead when the show first premiered in 2015. Over the course of four seasons, she grew to become one of the most complicated, interesting and beloved characters in the extended Walking Dead universe, before she was shockingly killed off halfway through Season 4. In the midseason finale, the now presciently named “No One’s Gone”, Madison lured an enormous herd of zombies into the baseball stadium she had built up with her family and fellow group members. She seemingly died heroically, locking herself in the stadium and lighting the herd on fire with a flare, even saying goodbye to her children over the radio.

…But since Madison’s body was never found, fans have persistently wondered if she somehow might have survived these impossible circumstances. Years have passed on the show, and they’ve hinted before that the character might return in some form. But now we know that not only will Madison be back, she’ll be back in a big, big way; first appearing during the second half of Season 7, before returning as a series regular in Season 8.

The question, though, and spoilers for tonight’s mid-season finale past this point: is she too late? In the episode, titled “PADRE”, Madison’s daughter Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) finally returned, only to reveal that she had to amputate her own arm after being bitten by a zombie. Not only that, but she’s walking around with the skeletal remains of her arm attached to her, and believes that the zombie infection is still raging inside her, despite the bite happening months earlier. And even beyond that, the big cliffhanger at the end of the episode was that Strand (Colman Domingo) and Alicia are going to war.

That, in fact, might be the key to why it was the right time to bring Madison back. Not only is she Alicia’s mother, she’s also one of the only characters who was able to command loyalty from the formerly slippery, now full-on villainous Strand.

Regardless, we’ll have a little while to wait to find out how Madison may have survived, why she’s returning now, and when, exactly she’ll return. The second half of the season will continue on Sunday, April 17, 2022 on AMC, and a week earlier on AMC+ on April 10, 2022. Check out a synopsis for the second half of the season below, as well as a (Madison free) teaser for the episodes, at the top of this very article:

In the second half of Season 7, months have passed after the nuclear blast and the only one thriving is Victor Strand (Colman Domingo). Having built a fiefdom, he callously selects who will have a chance at life. The other members of the group have suffered immensely, but out of that, has come a fierce determination to live, even if it means taking Strand’s Tower by force and continuing the search for Padre, a mythical place no one is sure really exists. Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey,) now the reluctant leader to Teddy’s former followers, is plagued by a mysterious illness and the repercussions of her past actions. Morgan (Lennie James,) trying to maintain hope that he will be reunited with his family, knows Alicia is key to their survival. With Alicia declaring war, Strand’s paranoia and personal vendettas grow, and with that, new threats emerge from all sides.

Where to watch Fear the Walking Dead