Kim Dickens is set to return as Madison Clark on Fear the Walking Dead. She’s been gone since her apparent death in Fear’s season 4 finale back in 2018. Dickens has now been confirmed to make her appearance when Fear TWD’s second half of season 7 airs April 2022 on AMC. The network revealed her return live on Talking Dead following Sunday’s midseason finale, “Padre,” and also announced that Dickens will continue as a series regular in the eighth season of Fear the Walking Dead.
“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,” said Scott M. Gimple, Chief Content Officer of AMC’s The Walking Dead Universe. “Kim Dickens’ raw talent, strength, and brilliance will electrify TWDU once more and we couldn’t be luckier to have her back.”
Kim Dickens unexpected exit as the leading star was in Fear the Walking Dead’s fourth season episode “No One’s Gone,” which was the midway point to the show when it took a different direction when Morgan Jones (Lennie James) from The Walking Dead became the the show’s lead.
Madison looked like she died in a big fire while saving her children Nick (Frank Dillane) and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey). It was her last stand inside the stadium walls which eventually was overrun by walkers.
At the time, Fear the Walking Dead showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg did confirm Madison’s fate. The duo took over from original showrunner and series co-creator Dave Erickson in Season 4. Erick had plans to evolve Madison into a villain through season 7 but it was a “story decision” by Chambliss and Goldberg to kill off Kim Dickens character midway through Fear the Walking Dead’s fourth season.
Dickens didn’t ask to be written off The Walking Dead spinoff show and was “devastated” when she learned about the decision. Dickens later hinted that Madison Clark could return because her apparent death happened off-screen.
“No One’s Gone,” Chambliss and Goldberg teased of Madison, “We never saw her body. And Madison herself said, ‘No one’s gone until they’re gone.'”
Fear the Walking Dead Season 7 returns Sunday, April 17th on AMC. The Walking Dead returns February 20th on AMC.