Adapting from the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Tony Moore, The Walking Dead is a post-apocalyptic horror series that airs on the AMC network. The series first aired on October 31, 2010, and has eleven seasons with 169 episodes.
The eleventh season of The Walking Dead aired on August 22, 2021, and is supposed to be the last season. Frank Darabont develops the series.
Cast
The Walking Dead has an ensemble cast of actors, with Andrew Lincoln, who played the lead role of Rick Grimes on the show till season nine.
Other cast members include Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene, and Danai Gurira as Michonne.
Josh McDermitt plays Eugene Porter, Christian Serratos plays Rosita Espinosa, Seth Gilliam plays Gabriel Stokes, Ross Marquand plays Aaron, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays Negan.
Premise
Drawing inspiration from the comic book series, The Walking Dead features characters trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. The zombies threaten the existence of the survivors, often referred to as ‘walkers.’
The series revolves around the life of deputy sheriff Rick Grimes, who wakes up from a coma to a zombie apocalypse. Grimes becomes the leader of survivors from Atlanta, and together they attempt to protect themselves from the zombies and other survivor groups.
The walkers are dangerous creatures enticed by different scents and noise. Initially, being bit by a zombie can turn another human into one the belief. Though the series reveals that all humans carry the pathogen responsible for the zombie mutation, this pathogen gets activated after the death of the human being.
The only way to eliminate a zombie is to destroy its brain or cremate its body.
Reception
The Walking Dead attracted audiences in the age group of 18 to 49 years in the initial seasons. However, with the passing seasons, the series’ viewership declined.
The critics’ review of the series has been positive for the first six and the last three seasons. Seasons seven and eight received mixed reviews from critics.
Media Franchise
Looking at the popularity of The Walking Dead series, the makers have turned it into a media franchise comprising webisodes, spin-offs, movies, and games.
The network’s website features four webisodes titled ‘Torn Apart,’ ‘Cold Storage,’ ‘The Oath,’ and ‘Red Machete.’
The series has inspired two spin-off series- Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond- premiering in 2015 and 2020. The makers have also announced three more spin-offs- Tales of the Walking Dead will premiere in mid-2022, another series featuring Daryl, and Isle of the Dead will feature Negan and Maggie.
The AMC network plans to release three feature films in the franchise that will take Rick Grime’s story forward.
The media franchise of The Walking Dead also includes video games.
Accolades
The Walking Dead has received several award nominations. Some major award nominations for the series include the Golden Globe Awards and the Writers Guild of America Awards.