The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard—together forming the core of The Walking Dead franchise. 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 chiefly known as "walkers" by the other characters. 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, hostile conflict between them. The series is the first television series within The Walking Dead franchise. Andrew Lincoln played the lead character Rick Grimes until his departure 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 is produced by AMC Studios in the state of Georgia, with most filming taking place in the outdoor spaces of Riverwood Studios near Senoia, Georgia. The series was initially adapted from the comic by Frank Darabont, who also served as showrunner for the first season. However, conflicts between Darabont and AMC forced his departure from the series and resulted in multiple lawsuits by Darabont and others. Glen Mazzara, Scott M. Gimple, and Angela Kang served as subsequent showrunners. The series premiered on October 31, 2010, and is exclusively broadcast on cable channel AMC in the United States and internationally through the Fox Networks Group and Disney+. The eleventh and final season premiered on August 22, 2021, and concluded on November 20, 2022. Beginning with its third season, The Walking Dead attracted the most 18- to 49-year-old viewers of any cable or broadcast television series, although viewership declined in later seasons. In addition, the series has been overall positively received by critics.