The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic television drama series developed by Frank Darabont. It is based on the comic book series The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard.
The series stars Andrew Lincoln as sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes who wakes up after being in a coma to find the world dominated by "walkers", resembling the zombies of George A. Romero's horror movies. He sets out to find his family and other survivors along the way. The Walking Dead premiered on October 31, 2010 on the cable television channel AMC in the United States. Based on its reception, AMC renewed the series for a second season of 13 episodes which premiered on October 16, 2011. Two episodes into the second season, AMC announced that the show would return for a third season.
The series has been well received by critics, and has received many award nominations, including a Writers Guild of America Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Television Series Drama.[8][9] The series has also attained strong Nielsen ratings, beating various records for a cable series, including receiving 9 million viewers for its season two finale to become the most-watched basic cable drama telecast in history.
The group is led by Rick Grimes, who was a sheriff's deputy before the zombie outbreak. At every turn they are faced with the horror of the dead walking again, the changing dynamic of their group, and hostility from the scattered remains of a struggling human populace who are focused on their own survival now that the structures of society have collapsed.
A few miles outside the city, Rick's wife Lori and son Carl have been hiding from the walkers with Shane Walsh, Rick's former colleague and best friend. They have established a camp with a small group of survivors. After being rescued from Atlanta by members of the group and reunited with Lori and Carl, Rick assumes command of the group with Shane. Part of the group goes back into Atlanta to recover weapons, where they come into conflict with other survivors, but Rick soon eases the tensions. On their return to their camp, they find it has been nearly overrun by walkers. Hoping to find medical treatment for an infected member, the remainder of the group decide to return to Atlanta and seek aid from the CDC.
In the CDC "safezone", all but one staff member, Dr. Edwin Jenner, have either fled or killed themselves. Dr. Jenner explains that his research into the cause of the infection has not yielded a cure. The CDC building is not the safe haven the group believed it would be. The following day, lack of fuel for the generators causes the safety protocols to be initiated. An explosion, meant to prevent the escape of deadly diseases, will destroy the CDC. Dr. Jenner explains that the French may have found a cure, as they survived the longest in their labs. Dr. Jenner and Jacqui, a member of Rick's group, decide to stay in the CDC and end their struggle. Another member of the group, Andrea, attempts to stay as well due to her despair after her sister Amy's death. Dale stays with her and says that if she does not leave, he will not. To prevent his death, Andrea makes a last minute decision to leave, thus saving them both. Before the group flees, Dr. Jenner whispers something into Rick's ear. The group escapes just as Jenner and Jacqui are killed by the explosion.
Hershel, who had to that point thought walkers were living people who could be treated, reacts badly to what has happened. He orders Rick and his group to leave immediately, before disappearing to grieve for his family. Daryl begins to withdraw from the group. Rick and Glenn go searching for Hershel. He was once an alcoholic, and they discover him drinking heavily in a local tavern. After trying to persuade Hershel to return, two other men enter the bar: survivors from another group. The situation rapidly turns sour and Rick kills the two men in gunfight. The dead men's former group quickly finds and opens fire on Rick, Hershel, and Glenn at the bar. The noise of the firefight attracts a large herd of walkers, and in their desperation to get away, the other group of survivors leave one of their members, Randall, behind, who got impaled in the leg by a steel fence after attempting to jump off a roof and flee. Rick cannot stand the thought of leaving him to be killed by walkers, so the three free him from the fence, then blindfold him, and take him to the farm. However, once they get him there, they realize that he could lead the remainder of his former group to the farm. Rick decides to drive Randall into the countryside to abandon him but is attacked by walkers during a fist fight with Shane. Shortly before the walkers' arrival, Randall confessed that he had known who Maggie and Hershel were, leading Rick and Shane to believe Randall may know the location of Hershel's farm. With the secrecy of the farm's location compromised, Rick decides to bring Randall back for possible execution. Hershel's daughter, Beth, tries to kill herself in order to escape a seemingly hopeless situation. The group deliberates over the fate of Randall and, despite Dale's protests, decides to execute him. Carl begins experimenting in danger, and is found watching Rick as he prepares to execute Randall. After seeing Carl, Rick sends Shane to take Carl away and decides to not execute Randall. Dale is fatally wounded by a walker, and as a result is killed by Daryl as an act of mercy. After Dale's funeral, the group decides that they need to rediscover their humanity. The group conducts a search for Randall, whom Shane secretly released and killed nearby by breaking his neck. Daryl and Glenn run into a walker then kill it. They realize that it was Randall. Daryl points out that Randall had no bites or scratches, only a broken neck. Daryl concludes that the breaking of the neck was the cause of death. Daryl and Glenn come to the realization that the dead can come back without being bitten by walkers. Shane uses the search for Randall as a ploy to silence Rick, but Rick realizes this and stabs Shane; as he does Shane fires his gun, missing Rick. Just minutes later, Shane reanimates as a walker and Carl shoots him.
The shots have attracted a large herd of walkers; Rick and Carl take refuge in the barn. Rick instructs Carl to ignite the barn after drawing walkers inside in order to save both himself and Carl. In the ensuing battle, Jimmy and Patricia are killed, Andrea is left behind, and the RV is lost. Andrea survives on her own, and is later rescued by a hooded woman accompanied by chained, armless walkers. The survivors, consisting of Rick, Lori, Carl, Glenn, Daryl, Carol, T-Dog, Maggie, Beth, and Hershel, regroup on the highway, but are forced to make camp due to lack of gasoline. The group begins to question Rick's leadership, to which he responds: "I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people." Frustrated, he declares that "this isn't a democracy any more", after revealing what Dr. Jenner told him—all of the survivors are infected. A large prison looms in a pan out of the final scene.
On February 24, 2012, it was announced that David Morrissey had been cast as The Governor, and on March 18, 2012, duringTalking Dead, it was revealed that Danai Gurira had been cast as Michonne. Michael Rooker has also confirmed that his character, Merle Dixon, will be returning in season 3.
On July 13, 2012, it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con International that the season will premiere on October 14, 2012.
On August 10, 2012, Robert Kirkman confirmed that season 3 will be split into two halves with the first 8 episodes set to premiere on October 14, 2012, and the other 8 episodes to air in early spring 2013.
Laurie Holden was one of five actors on the series to receive a 2011 Saturn Award nomination for their performance.
The series stars Andrew Lincoln as sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes who wakes up after being in a coma to find the world dominated by "walkers", resembling the zombies of George A. Romero's horror movies. He sets out to find his family and other survivors along the way. The Walking Dead premiered on October 31, 2010 on the cable television channel AMC in the United States. Based on its reception, AMC renewed the series for a second season of 13 episodes which premiered on October 16, 2011. Two episodes into the second season, AMC announced that the show would return for a third season.
The series has been well received by critics, and has received many award nominations, including a Writers Guild of America Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Television Series Drama.[8][9] The series has also attained strong Nielsen ratings, beating various records for a cable series, including receiving 9 million viewers for its season two finale to become the most-watched basic cable drama telecast in history.
Series overview
Based on the comic book series of the same name, The Walking Dead tells the story of a small group of survivors living in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. Most of the story takes place in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and then the surrounding countryside of Northern Georgia, as the survivors search for a safe haven away from the shuffling hordes of predatory "walkers" (as the zombies are referred to in the show) who devour any living thing they catch, and whose bite is infectious to humans. The plot is focused primarily on the dilemmas the group faces as they struggle to balance their humanity with their survival against the zombie horde, and later, how they cope with members being killed and deal with other human survivors they encounter, many of whom are dangerous and predatory themselves.The group is led by Rick Grimes, who was a sheriff's deputy before the zombie outbreak. At every turn they are faced with the horror of the dead walking again, the changing dynamic of their group, and hostility from the scattered remains of a struggling human populace who are focused on their own survival now that the structures of society have collapsed.
Season 1 (2010)
Season one follows sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes as he attempts to find his family and lead them to safety. The series begins with Rick waking up from a coma in an abandoned and badly damaged hospital. Leaving the hospital Rick discovers a post-apocalyptic world overrun with zombies (or "walkers", as they are referred to in-show). Rick also discovers his wife and son are missing. Acting on a rumor from a fellow survivor, he arms himself and begins a perilous journey to Atlanta, Georgia, where theCDC is said to have set up a quarantined "safe-zone" in the city, reasoning that his family may be there. During his journey, Rick sees the devastation to both society and infrastructure left by the disaster. Upon reaching Atlanta, he soon discovers that the city is overrun by the undead and is no longer a safe zone.A few miles outside the city, Rick's wife Lori and son Carl have been hiding from the walkers with Shane Walsh, Rick's former colleague and best friend. They have established a camp with a small group of survivors. After being rescued from Atlanta by members of the group and reunited with Lori and Carl, Rick assumes command of the group with Shane. Part of the group goes back into Atlanta to recover weapons, where they come into conflict with other survivors, but Rick soon eases the tensions. On their return to their camp, they find it has been nearly overrun by walkers. Hoping to find medical treatment for an infected member, the remainder of the group decide to return to Atlanta and seek aid from the CDC.
In the CDC "safezone", all but one staff member, Dr. Edwin Jenner, have either fled or killed themselves. Dr. Jenner explains that his research into the cause of the infection has not yielded a cure. The CDC building is not the safe haven the group believed it would be. The following day, lack of fuel for the generators causes the safety protocols to be initiated. An explosion, meant to prevent the escape of deadly diseases, will destroy the CDC. Dr. Jenner explains that the French may have found a cure, as they survived the longest in their labs. Dr. Jenner and Jacqui, a member of Rick's group, decide to stay in the CDC and end their struggle. Another member of the group, Andrea, attempts to stay as well due to her despair after her sister Amy's death. Dale stays with her and says that if she does not leave, he will not. To prevent his death, Andrea makes a last minute decision to leave, thus saving them both. Before the group flees, Dr. Jenner whispers something into Rick's ear. The group escapes just as Jenner and Jacqui are killed by the explosion.
Season 2 (2011–2012)
The second season begins with Rick and his group of survivors escaping the CDC. They decide that Fort Benning would be their next destination. Along the way, they come across a traffic jam of abandoned vehicles on Interstate 85. The group loots several vehicles and, as a large herd of walkers approaches, are forced to hide under the vehicles. While in hiding Sophia is chased out from under the vehicle and is then pursued into the woods. The remaining group deals with interpersonal relationships while various searches for Sophia are performed. Carl is accidentally shot during the initial search by a hunter, Otis. Otis leads Rick and Shane to a large, isolated farm owned by a veterinarian named Hershel Greene. The survivors move to the farm while Carl recovers. Rick's group tries to co-exist alongside Hershel's family, but dangerous secrets and disagreements over leadership cause tensions to rise. Glenn builds a romantic relationship with Maggie, one of Hershel's daughters. He also discovers that Hershel's barn is full of walkers, some of which are Hershel´s family members. When Shane forces the walkers out of the barn and the group opens fire, Sophia appears as a walker and is shot by Rick.Hershel, who had to that point thought walkers were living people who could be treated, reacts badly to what has happened. He orders Rick and his group to leave immediately, before disappearing to grieve for his family. Daryl begins to withdraw from the group. Rick and Glenn go searching for Hershel. He was once an alcoholic, and they discover him drinking heavily in a local tavern. After trying to persuade Hershel to return, two other men enter the bar: survivors from another group. The situation rapidly turns sour and Rick kills the two men in gunfight. The dead men's former group quickly finds and opens fire on Rick, Hershel, and Glenn at the bar. The noise of the firefight attracts a large herd of walkers, and in their desperation to get away, the other group of survivors leave one of their members, Randall, behind, who got impaled in the leg by a steel fence after attempting to jump off a roof and flee. Rick cannot stand the thought of leaving him to be killed by walkers, so the three free him from the fence, then blindfold him, and take him to the farm. However, once they get him there, they realize that he could lead the remainder of his former group to the farm. Rick decides to drive Randall into the countryside to abandon him but is attacked by walkers during a fist fight with Shane. Shortly before the walkers' arrival, Randall confessed that he had known who Maggie and Hershel were, leading Rick and Shane to believe Randall may know the location of Hershel's farm. With the secrecy of the farm's location compromised, Rick decides to bring Randall back for possible execution. Hershel's daughter, Beth, tries to kill herself in order to escape a seemingly hopeless situation. The group deliberates over the fate of Randall and, despite Dale's protests, decides to execute him. Carl begins experimenting in danger, and is found watching Rick as he prepares to execute Randall. After seeing Carl, Rick sends Shane to take Carl away and decides to not execute Randall. Dale is fatally wounded by a walker, and as a result is killed by Daryl as an act of mercy. After Dale's funeral, the group decides that they need to rediscover their humanity. The group conducts a search for Randall, whom Shane secretly released and killed nearby by breaking his neck. Daryl and Glenn run into a walker then kill it. They realize that it was Randall. Daryl points out that Randall had no bites or scratches, only a broken neck. Daryl concludes that the breaking of the neck was the cause of death. Daryl and Glenn come to the realization that the dead can come back without being bitten by walkers. Shane uses the search for Randall as a ploy to silence Rick, but Rick realizes this and stabs Shane; as he does Shane fires his gun, missing Rick. Just minutes later, Shane reanimates as a walker and Carl shoots him.
The shots have attracted a large herd of walkers; Rick and Carl take refuge in the barn. Rick instructs Carl to ignite the barn after drawing walkers inside in order to save both himself and Carl. In the ensuing battle, Jimmy and Patricia are killed, Andrea is left behind, and the RV is lost. Andrea survives on her own, and is later rescued by a hooded woman accompanied by chained, armless walkers. The survivors, consisting of Rick, Lori, Carl, Glenn, Daryl, Carol, T-Dog, Maggie, Beth, and Hershel, regroup on the highway, but are forced to make camp due to lack of gasoline. The group begins to question Rick's leadership, to which he responds: "I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people." Frustrated, he declares that "this isn't a democracy any more", after revealing what Dr. Jenner told him—all of the survivors are infected. A large prison looms in a pan out of the final scene.
Season 3 (2012–2013)
AMC renewed The Walking Dead for a third season on October 25, 2011 after the season two premiere broke cable ratings records in the 18–49 demographic. On January 14, 2012, AMC announced that the third season will contain an extended episode order of 16 episodes.On February 24, 2012, it was announced that David Morrissey had been cast as The Governor, and on March 18, 2012, duringTalking Dead, it was revealed that Danai Gurira had been cast as Michonne. Michael Rooker has also confirmed that his character, Merle Dixon, will be returning in season 3.
On July 13, 2012, it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con International that the season will premiere on October 14, 2012.
On August 10, 2012, Robert Kirkman confirmed that season 3 will be split into two halves with the first 8 episodes set to premiere on October 14, 2012, and the other 8 episodes to air in early spring 2013.
Cast and characters
Main
| Recurring
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Darabont connections
The series features several actors that Walking Dead developer Frank Darabont has worked with previously, including Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Melissa McBride and Juan Gabriel Pareja. All four appeared in his 2007 film The Mist, along withThomas Jane, who originally was set to star in the series when it was pitched to HBO. He was also in talks with Darabont to possibly guest star on the series as of fall 2010,[18] but with Darabont's dismissal by AMC, it is unknown if the guest spot will happen or not. Laurie Holden also appeared in the 2001 film The Majestic (she played Adele Stanton, Jim Carrey's character's love interest), which Darabont directed. DeMunn has also appeared in several of Darabont's films; in addition to The Mist andThe Majestic, he also appeared in The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Green Mile (1999). Samuel Witwer (Private Jessup in Darabont's The Mist) appeared near the end of the pilot episode as a dead soldier in the tank where Rick hides. It was planned that Witwer would reprise his role in the original conception of the season two premiere.Ratings
Season 1
The pilot received 5.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched series premiere episode of any AMC television series. The first season finale received 6 million viewers, a season high; with 4 million viewers in the 18–49 demographic, making it the most watched basic cable series for the demographic. The first season had an average of 5.24 million viewers and a rating of 2.7 in the 18–49 demographic. In the United Kingdom, it premiered one week after it did in the United States, on November 5, 2010 on digital channel, FX. The premiere had 579,000 viewers, almost double for any other show on FX that week. The viewership dipped during the season then rose to 522,000 viewers for the final episode. The terrestrial premiere on Channel 5on April 10, 2011, averaged 1.46 million viewers.
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