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The Walking Dead: Created by Frank Darabont. With Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan, Christian Serratos. Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma to learn the world is in ruins and must lead a group of survivors to stay alive.
- (1.1M)
- 2010-10-31
- Drama, Horror, Thriller
- 45
Feb 2, 2024 · The Walking Dead: Dead City premiered on June 18th, 2023. It followed the story of Maggie and Negan traveling to New York City in order to get back her kidnapped son. Season 2 for the series...
- Alexandra Ramos
- Overview
- Series Overview
- Cast and Characters
- Production
- Release
- Reception
- Franchise and Spin-Offs
- Lawsuits
is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series developed by Frank Darabont, based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. Together, the show and the comic book series form the core of The Walking Dead television universe. The series features a large ensemble cast as survivors of a zombie apocalypse trying to stay alive under near-constant threat of attacks from zombies known as "walkers". With the collapse of modern civilization, these survivors must confront other human survivors who have formed groups and communities with their own sets of laws and morals, sometimes leading to open conflict between them. The series is the first television series within The Walking Dead franchise.
premiered on October 31, 2010. It was exclusively broadcast on cable channel AMC in the United States and internationally through the Fox Networks Group and Disney+. The series concluded on November 20, 2022, after eleven seasons and 177 episodes. Andrew Lincoln played the lead character of Rick Grimes until his departure from the show in the ninth season. Other long-standing cast members included Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The Walking Dead was produced by AMC Studios in the state of Georgia, with most filming having taken place in the outdoor spaces of Riverwood Studios near Senoia, Georgia.
became known as AMC's flagship series and as a ratings juggernaut. Beginning with its third season, The Walking Dead attracted the most 18- to 49-year-old viewers of any cable or broadcast television series. The series was positively received by critics. It was nominated for several awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama and the Writers Guild of America Award for New Series. The show's viewership declined during later seasons.
AMC has created a franchise of related media, including the spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead (2015-23), The Walking Dead: World Beyond (2020-21), Tales of the Walking Dead (2022), The Walking Dead: Dead City (2023-Present), The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2023-Present) and The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (2024) as well as several webisodes and video games.
takes place after the onset of a worldwide zombie apocalypse. The zombies, referred to as "walkers", shamble towards living humans and other creatures to eat them. They are attracted to noise and to scents, including the scent of humans. Humans that are bitten or scratched by walkers die and become walkers themselves. Early in the series, it is revealed that all living humans carry the pathogen responsible for the mutation that turns humans into walkers. Therefore, any human who dies—regardless of the cause of death—will reanimate as a walker. The mutation is activated after the death of the pathogen's host. The only way to permanently kill a walker is to damage its brain or to destroy the body entirely (e.g. via cremation).
Initially, the series centers on sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who wakes up from a coma in the first episode of the series. While Rick was comatose, the world was taken over by walkers. Rick becomes the leader of a group of survivors from the Atlanta, Georgia region who attempt to sustain and protect themselves against attacks by walkers and against other groups of survivors willing to use any means necessary to stay alive.
Darabont Connections
The series features several actors whom series developer Frank Darabont has worked with previously, including Laurie Holden (Andrea Harrison), Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale Horvath), Melissa McBride (Carol Peletier), Juan Pareja (Morales) and Sam Witwer (the dead soldier in the tank where Rick Grimes hides in "Days Gone Bye"). All five appeared in his 2007 film The Mist,[112] along with Thomas Jane, who originally was set to star in the series as Rick Grimes when it was pitched to HBO.[113][114][115] Jane was in fall 2010 in talks with Darabont to possibly guest star on the series;[116] however, with Darabont's departure,[117] a guest appearance for Jane never materialized. Holden also appeared in the 2001 film The Majestic, which Darabont also directed. DeMunn has appeared in several of Darabont's films; in addition to The Mist and The Majestic, he appeared in The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Green Mile (1999). It was planned that Witwer (Private Jessup in Darabont's The Mist) would reprise his "Days Gone Bye" role in the original conception of the series' second season premiere[118] and in a webisode,[119] but both plans were discarded.[120]
Development
On January 20, 2010, AMC officially announced that it had ordered a pilot for a possible series adapted from The Walking Dead comic book series, with Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd acting as executive producers and Darabont writing and directing.[121] The entire series was pre-ordered based just on the strength of the source material, the television scripts, and Darabont's involvement.[122] In January 2010 a review of the pilot episode's script attracted further attention.[123] The pilot began filming in Atlanta, Georgia on May 15, 2010[124] after AMC had officially ordered a six-episode first season.[125] The series's remaining episodes began filming on June 2, 2010, with Darabont serving as showrunner.[126][127] On August 31, 2010, Darabont reported that The Walking Dead had been picked up for a second season, with production to begin in February 2011. On November 8, 2010, AMC confirmed that there would be a second season consisting of 13 episodes.[128] He would also like to include some of the "environmental elements" that take place during Volume 2 of Kirkman's book.[129]
Crew
The first season writing staff consisted of series developer and executive producer Frank Darabont (who wrote/co-wrote four of the six episodes), executive producer Charles H. Eglee, executive producer and creator of the comic book Robert Kirkman, co-executive producer Jack LoGiudice, consulting producer Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara, all of whom contributed to one episode each. Along with Darabont, who directed the pilot episode, the remaining five were directed by Michelle MacLaren, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Johan Renck, Ernest Dickerson, and Guy Ferland, respectively.[130] On December 1, 2010, Deadline Hollywood reported that Darabont had fired his writing staff, including executive producer Charles H. Eglee, and planned to use freelance writers for the second season.[131] Kirkman called the announcement "premature" and clarified that Eglee left to pursue other projects when Darabont decided to stay on as showrunner, and no definitive plans had been made regarding the writing staff for the second season.[132] On December 3, 2010, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd commented: "It's completely inaccurate. [In] the writers' room, there are people that have set up other projects that will be their first priority if their own series is picked up as a pilot or if it's a series. I think [Eglee] just decided that he wants to run his own show." She revealed that it would be likely for the series to return in October 2011, as Darabont and Kirkman planned on mapping out the next season early in 2011. She also confirmed that, "every one of the principal cast is signed up for multiple seasons."[133] In July 2011, series developer and showrunner Frank Darabont was fired from his position as showrunner for the series, over unethical business practices from AMC higher-ups (see Lawsuits below).[134] Executive producer Glen Mazzara was appointed the new showrunner in Darabont's place.[135] New writers joined the writing staff in the second season, including co-executive producer Evan T. Reilly, producer Scott Gimple, story editor Angela Kang, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick. New writers in the third season included producers Nichole Beattie and Sang Kyu Kim, with Frank Renzulli contributing a freelance script. After the conclusion of the third season, Glen Mazzara stepped down from his position as showrunner and executive producer for the series, per a mutual agreement between Mazzara and AMC. The press release read, "Both parties acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion about where the show should go moving forward, and conclude that it is best to part ways."[136] Scott Gimple succeeded Mazzara as showrunner for the fourth season,[137] with new writers joining the writing staff, such as Curtis Gwinn, Channing Powell, and Matt Negrete.[138] In January 2018, it was announced that Gimple would be promoted to the newly created position of Chief Content Officer of the entire Walking Dead franchise, and that Angela Kang would replace him as showrunner beginning with the ninth season.[139][140]
Writing
The television series generally tends to follow Kirkman's comic series across major characters and plots; for instance, events of the premiere episode of the seventh season correlate to events in issue #100 of the comics.[141][142] The series does not attempt to go step-by-step with the comics, and has leeway in the narrative. In particular, the series's writers, along with Kirkman, often "transfer" how a character has died in the comics to a different character in the series. For example, in the fourth season, where Hershel Greene is beheaded by the Governor in the stand-off with Rick's group at the prison; in the comic, Tyreese is the one who suffers this fate.[141] Some of the television characters, like Carol, have far outlived their comic counterparts, while others that have already been killed off, like Sophia and Andrea, remained alive for some time in the ongoing comic series.[142] In addition, the writers have included characters wholly novel to the series such as Daryl Dixon, which producer Gale Anne Hurd says helps to create a new dynamic for the series, and keeps the audience guessing from what had already been established in the comic series.[143]
Scenes from the pilot were screened July 23, 2010, as part of the San Diego Comic-Con in 2010.[183] It premiered on AMC on October 31, 2010, and premiered internationally on Fox International Channels during the first week of November.[184][185] Almost two weeks before the official premiere on AMC, the pilot episode leaked online.[186]
International broadcast rights for the series were sold and announced on June 14, 2010.[187] The series airs on Fox International Channels in 126 countries in 33 languages. The fifth season debuted its first part on October 13, 2014.[188] The second part premiered on February 9, 2015.[189] On May 20, 2021, it was announced, following the closure of the Fox channel in the UK and Ireland, that the eleventh and final season would instead be released on the Star hub on Disney+ the day after episodes air in the United States.[190]
Critical Reception
The first six seasons and the ninth, tenth and eleventh seasons of The Walking Dead have been well reviewed by recognized critics, while the seventh and eighth seasons received more mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an average score of 80%.[228] For the first season, 87% of 100 Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a positive review, with an average score of 7.35/10. That site's consensus states, "Blood-spattered, emotionally resonant, and white-knuckle intense, The Walking Dead puts an intelligent spin on the overcrowded zombie subgenre."[210] Metacritic scored the first season 82/100 based on 25 critic reviews, 23 of which were positive, two mixed, and none negative.[211] For the second season, 80% of 203 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes were positive, with an average score of 8.05/10. The site's consensus states, "The second season of The Walking Dead fleshes out the characters while maintaining the grueling tension and gore that made the show a hit."[212] Of 22 Metacritic critic reviews, 18 were positive, four were mixed, and none were negative; their average score was 80/100.[213] Early criticism of the series focused on the slow pace of the second season, particularly the first half. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly, described the series as "a nighttime soap", comparing it to "a parody of a Samuel Beckett play" that had very little sense of direction and few appearances of walkers.[229] Nate Rawlings of Time online entertainment section noted that "the pace during the first half of this season has been brutally slow. [...] They've tried to develop individual characters, but each subplot meant to add a layer to a character has been quickly resolved."[230] Later reviews from other critics, such as Scott Wampler of Collider.com, recognized the increased quality of the second half, stating it "seemed far more intense, more interesting, better written".[231] Recognizing the overall season, Kevin Yeoman of Screen Rant offered praise saying "the writers succeeded in unshackling themselves from the intermittent monotony brought about by the serial nature of the show".[232] The third season had 88% of Rotten Tomatoes' 327 critics giving it a positive review, with an average score of 7.85/10. The site's consensus states, "The palpable terror and visceral thrills continue in the third season of The Walking Dead, along with a deeper sense of the people who inhabit its apocalyptic landscape."[214] Metacritic's 19 critics rated the season 82/100, all of whom gave a positive review.[215] For the fourth season, 81% of Rotten Tomatoes' 316 critic reviews were positive, with an average score of 7.60/10. The site's consensus states, "Consistently thrilling, with solid character development and enough gore to please grindhouse fans, this season of The Walking Dead continues to demonstrate why it's one of the best horror shows on television."[216] Metacritic scored the season 75/100 based on 16 critic reviews, 13 of which were positive, three mixed, and none negative.[217] The fifth season had 90% of Rotten Tomatoes' 374 critic reviews rating it positively, with an average score of 6.95/10. The site's consensus states, "Thanks to a liberal dose of propulsive, bloody action and enough compelling character moments to reward longtime fans, the series' fifth season continues to deliver top-notch entertainment."[218] Metacritic scored the fifth season 80/100 based on 11 critic reviews, all of which were positive.[219] For the sixth season, 76% of Rotten Tomatoes' 512 critic reviews were positive, with an average score of 7.40/10. The site's consensus states, "Six seasons in, The Walking Dead is still finding ways to top itself, despite slow patches that do little to advance the plot."[220] Metacritic scored the sixth season 79/100 based on 10 critic reviews, nine of which were positive, one mixed, and none negative.[221] For the seventh season, 66% of Rotten Tomatoes' 620 critic reviews rated it positively, with an average score of 6.85/10. The site's consensus is, "Increased character depth and effective world-building helps The Walking Dead overcome a tiresome reliance on excessive, gratuitous violence."[222] After the controversial season premiere episode was aired, critic Matt Zoller Seitz criticized the series' consistently cynical use of violence, stating that "The longer this series goes on, the more obvious it becomes that the violence is the point, and everything else is an intellectual fig leaf."[233] For the eighth season, 65% of Rotten Tomatoes' 447 critic reviews rated it positively, with an average score of 6.65/10. The site's consensus states "The series' eighth season energizes its characters with some much-needed angst and action, though it's still occasionally choppy and lacking forward-moving plot progression."[223] For the ninth season, 89% of Rotten Tomatoes' 365 critic reviews were positive, with an average score of 7.15/10. The site's consensus states, "Nine seasons in, The Walking Dead feels more alive than ever, with heightened tension and a refreshed pace that rejuvenates this long-running franchise."[224] Metacritic scored the ninth season 72/100 based on 4 critic reviews, 3 of which were positive, one mixed, and none negative.[225] For the tenth season, 77% of Rotten Tomatoes' 392 critic reviews were positive, with an average score of 7/10. The site's consensus states, "A few changes in front of and behind the camera allow TWD create space for compelling new stories and some seriously scary new adversaries."[226] For the eleventh season, 81% of Rotten Tomatoes' 224 critic reviews were positive, with an average score of 5.7/10. The site's consensus states, "While the sense of finality is diminished by the promise of even more spinoffs, the series' eleventh conclusion is a solid enough conclusion to an epic tale of zombies that never had a clear offramp to begin with."[227] In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Walking Dead as the #8 sci-fi show.[234]
Comments About Diversity
Some critics have commented on the increasing diversity of the series.[235][236][237] This approach was initially applauded by commentators.[235][236] In 2015, Lindsay Putnam of the New York Post questioned whether the show was in danger of becoming "too diverse" as the show "seemingly reached critical mass for its nonwhite, nonmale survivors — and now has no choice but to kill them off".[235] Robert Kirkman has discussed the increasing diversity of the show and the comic books. He has described how he regrets the lack of diversity in the early issues of the comic book series and explained how they would have been "vastly more diverse" if he were to have started them now.[238]
Ratings
During its first season, The Walking Dead attracted between four and six million viewers.[239] Viewership began to increase in its second season. During seasons three to seven, it attracted ten to seventeen million viewers.[239] In 2012, during its third season, it became the first cable series in television history to have the highest total viewership of any series during the fall season among 18- to 49-year-old adults.[239][240] In 2014, total viewership for the show's fifth-season premiere was 17.3 million, making it the most-watched series episode in cable history.[241][242] In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 television series with the most Facebook likes found that like most other zombie series, The Walking Dead "is most popular in rural areas, particularly southern Texas and eastern Kentucky".[243] Ratings began to decline during season seven and continued to steadily drop thereafter. The ratings decline was attributed to a variety of factors, including Rick's presumed death. By the end of season nine, the show had fewer viewers than it had at any time since its first season.[244]
Webisodes
As of 2018, four web series based on The Walking Dead have been released via AMC's website: Torn Apart (2011), Cold Storage (2012), The Oath (2013)[279] and Red Machete (2017).[280] ••••
Talking Dead
A live television aftershow titled Talking Dead premiered on AMC on October 16, 2011, following the encore presentation of second-season premiere of The Walking Dead. Talking Dead features host Chris Hardwick discussing the latest episode with fans, actors, and producers of The Walking Dead.[281]
Others
Wizards of the Coast worked with AMC to include characters and elements of The Walking Dead, into Magic: The Gathering as part of a 2020 "Secret Lair" card set, given that the card game had already had the idea of zombies within the game already.[299]
Breach of Contract Suits
Frank Darabont's departure as showrunner in July 2011 during the second season came as surprise to many, as it came shortly after the season's premiere and a few days after that year's Comic-Con, where Darabont helped to promote the series.[307] It was speculated that he was unable to adjust to the schedule of running a television series;[308] however, The Hollywood Reporter reported that AMC had fired him. There had been reported difficulties in the production of the second season, including disputes over planned budget cuts and executive meddling, and it was known that Darabont and AMC had several discussions relating to these factors. Neither Darabont, AMC, nor the cast nor crew of The Walking Dead spoke about the reasons for his firing.[309] In December 2013, Darabont and his agents from Creative Artists Agency (CAA) filed a lawsuit against AMC in a New York court, citing breach of contract. A central part of Darabont's lawsuit accuses AMC of denying him and the CAA the promised profits from the success of the series, based on how AMC had used vertical integration in producing and distributing The Walking Dead.[307] As stated in Darabont's filing, he had initially entered into a contract with AMC to have a third-party studio produce the series, from which he would have obtained 12.5% of that entity's profits, after standard deductions. AMC wanted to produce the series in-house, and for the first season, Darabont's lawyers had been assured that Darabont would be protected from self-dealing fees by having AMC commit to imputed license fees equivalent to those of other independent studios, with Darabont earning profit from that. Darabont's suit contends that when the series' popularity took off, AMC presented a license fee deal to Darabont around February 2011 that used "an unconscionably low license fee formula" such that AMC could report the series running at a loss and ensuring that Darabont would never see any profit from the series; as an example, the suit references statements in 2012, following the second season, that AMC claimed the series was running at a $49 million deficit, despite being one of the most popular series in broadcast.[307] Darabont's suit contends he was fired just at the start of the second season so that AMC would avoid having to pay him.[307] Initial discovery phase hearings were held in 2014. Darabont's lawyers sought to gain information from AMC on their other series, specifically Breaking Bad and Mad Men, to obtain a "fair market value" for The Walking Dead. AMC asserted it had done no wrongdoing, had already paid Darabont $3 million upfront for two seasons, and was able to properly set the imputed license fee that worked into the profit formula for Darabont. The network resisted the request to provide otherwise confidential information on the other series.[310] The court granted Darabont's lawyers access to the requested information as part of the discovery phase.[311] Darabont described "crisis-level problems" during the series' production while under deposition, claiming that AMC had cut the per-episode budget from $3.4 million to $3 million while keeping the tax credit offered by the state of Georgia for filming there, effectively reducing the production budget by 25%.[312] In August 2015, Darabont requested to amend his original complaint that AMC further reduced his profits from the second season as his firing mid-season meant he was not fully vested in the season, allowing AMC to reduce the profits paid him. Darabont's amended request points out that he had written and produced all the episodes in that season already and was entitled to the proper profit share.[313] The judge granted this amendment in February 2016, partially influenced by concerns raised in Darabont's deposition.[314] At the end of the discovery phase in September 2016, Darabont's lawyers stated they were seeking damages of over $280 million; AMC stated they would "vigorously" defend against the lawsuit.[315] Summary judgement statements were completed in July 2017.[316] While waiting for summary judgement, Darabont and the CAA filed a second lawsuit against AMC, based on further evaluation of material from the discovery phase. The second suit contended that AMC purposely manipulated some of its licensing fees that should go to Darabont, such as revenue from digital sales and from overseas markets, and sought an addition $10 million in damages.[317] Though AMC had initially refused to provide necessary documents for discovery for this new case, AMC did offer to willingly provide them after Darabont's attorneys threatened further legal action during October 2018.[318] By December 2018, the presiding judge ruled against issuing summary judgement in the case, setting up for a jury trial to hear the full case.[319] Due to the retirement of the judge that had overseen the previous cases, a new judge was assigned to the case in February 2019, who joined both the initial 2013 suit and the 2018 suit into a single case, expected to be heard in May 2020.[320] AMC filed a new request for summary judgement of the case in December 2019.[321] The summary judgement was denied, and the jury trial for the case started on February 10, 2020.[322] The judge also denied AMC summary judgement in the second suit for the additional $10 million in April 2020, determining that should also go to jury.[323] By July 2021, AMC reported they had settled with Darabont and CAA for $200 million and future royalty payments.[324] In August 2017, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Charles Eglee, Glen Mazzara and David Alpert filed similar lawsuits against AMC, citing breach of contract over profits owed to them as a result of AMC's vertical integration. As with Darabont, each had been given a certain percentage of the series's profits based on whether the series was produced by a third party, but when it was transitioned to AMC Studios, their share was dramatically reduced. The Hollywood Reporter estimated that if the four sought similar damages to Darabont's, the lawsuit could be as high as $1 billion.[325] The suits, filed separately in Los Angeles and New York City, were consolidated into a single case heard in a Los Angeles court.[326] Initial hearings over the contractual terms of the "modified adjusted gross receipts" were held in February and March 2020, and the court ruled in July 2020 that AMC had followed the contractual terms in calculating these amounts, giving the network a preliminary victory in the trial.[327] The court issued its final ruling in April 2022, granting summary judgment in favor of AMC, with the judge ruling that there was no contractual language in the plaintiffs' contract dealing with the "modified adjusted gross receipts" and thus there was no actionable claims they could make.[328] Kirkman and the others said that despite the lawsuit, they will continue to work as "partners" with AMC to assure continued success of The Walking Dead and its spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead.[329]
Stuntman Death
During filming of season 8 in July 2017, stuntman John Bernecker was performing a 21-foot drop but ended up missing padded cushions and instead fell onto the concrete floor, sustaining a serious head injury. Though rushed to a hospital, his injuries were too severe and he was taken off life support the next day. AMC and the show's cast and crew expressed remorse for the accident, shutting down production for several days to deal with Bernecker's funeral. The Atlanta Occupational Safety and Health Administration branch launched an investigation of the incident.[330] Bernecker's mother filed a lawsuit in January 2018 against AMC asserting that the production had not taken sufficient precautions to protect Bernecker, including lack of sufficient padding, lack of rehearsal, and not having an ambulance ready to treat his injury.[331] The judge presiding the lawsuit dismissed AMC's claims that it was not responsible since Bernecker was in full control of setting up the stunt, allowing the case to proceed to a jury trial.[332] The trial was held during December 2019,[333] with the jury awarding Bernecker's family $8.6 million in damages on December 19 after finding that TWD 8, the AMC entity managing production, and the production company Stalwart Films were negligent in Bernecker's death, while clearing AMC itself of any wrongdoing.[334]
People also ask
Are there any upcoming 'The Walking Dead' TV shows?
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The eleventh and final season of The Walking Dead, an American post-apocalyptic horror television series on AMC, premiered on August 22, 2021, and concluded on November 20, 2022, consisting of 24 episodes. [1] .
Dec 1, 2023 · Four upcoming The Walking Dead projects are officially confirmed by AMC, but the potential for additional projects has also been teased. With numerous undead pies in the oven, details surrounding each of AMC's upcoming The Walking Dead TV shows are in plentiful supply. Fear The Walking Dead Ending Explained: All Returns, Twists & What Comes Next.
- Junior Lead Features Editor
- 2 min
Television series. The Walking Dead (2010–2022) Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2023) World Beyond (2020–2021) Tales of the Walking Dead (2022) Dead City (2023–present) Daryl Dixon (2023–present) The Ones Who Live (2024) More Tales from the Walking Dead Universe. Web series. Recurring cast and characters. Reception. Ratings. Critical response.
The Walking Dead premiered on October 31, 2010. It was exclusively broadcast on cable channel AMC in the United States and internationally through the Fox Networks Group and Disney+. The series concluded on November 20, 2022, after eleven seasons and 177 episodes.
