The showrunners behind The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon have ruled out any future romance between the lead co-stars, Daryl and Carol. Producer David Zabel, in conversation with SFX Magazine (from a story by GamesRadar), says he can “respect” the views of fans who want to see a relationship form between the two post-apocalyptic besties. However, a romance, Zabel says, would be a “mistake.”

“The obvious thing to do, and the easier thing to do would be, ‘Okay, now they’re falling in love and they’re a couple.’ But I always felt like that would be a mistake, because it would feel like you were going into the TV book of tricks,” Zabel says. He adds that “there was never a question that [their connection] was something other than what it is, and what it seems to want to be, and why it works so well.”

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – (Pic: AMC).

However, Daryl Dixon is no stranger to romance, following a fleeting relationship with Leah (who later joined a group of brutal ex-military vets and helped incite an all-out-war between their two groups). With Daryl now fighting to return home, Zabel has indicated that he and Reedus, through discussions, are keen to “see what happens” with the archer and Isabelle (Clémence Poésy).

“There are moments of friction, but there are obviously moments of mutual interest, and more than friendship that seems to be developing,” says Zabel. “Norman and I talked about this, that we wanted to draw a mature, adult relationship between a man and a woman and see where it went. Let’s just put these two characters, who are very different in very interesting, intriguing ways, force them together by the story facts, and then see what happens.”