The Walking Dead turns 10
On Oct. 31, 2010, “The Walking Dead” premiered on AMC.
The television series, which is based on Robert Kirkman’s popular graphic novels of the same title, quickly became an unlikely hit and top-rated horror drama.
It soon morphed into a pop culture phenomenon that spawned spinoff shows, video games, a slew of official merchandise and even an after-show program hosted by Chris Hardwick dubbed “Talking Dead.”
The show returns for the final episode of its 10th season on Sunday, Oct. 4. It was originally scheduled to air back in April, but with studio shutdowns due to COVID-19 the series needed more time. (And please be advised that there will be spoilers in this story if you’re not currently caught up.)
When we last saw things, fans were left with a massive cliffhanger as a major character killed another major character. As well, we saw a battle begin, a new character named Princess appear and the return of Maggie Rhee Greene, who departed early in season nine.
During a virtual panel at Comic-Con@Home in July, producers announced that they’d added an additional six episodes on to season 10, which are scheduled to air next year. However, earlier this month AMC announced that the 11th season would be the final one of “The Walking Dead,” which will play out over a two-year period and include a total of 24 episodes.
Chief content officer of “The Walking Dead” Scott Gimple said it will be bittersweet to end the flagship show. He recalled a cold night on set in Georgia as he, showrunner Angela Kang and executive producer and effects creator Greg Nicotero, were huddled around the monitors on set; they asked themselves: “If we could work on any television show, what would it be?”
“We were all like, ‘Holy crap, it would be this show.
This is the show,’” he said during a recent phone interview. “I love the people who are on the show and what we’re writing for these characters. I just feel so lucky.”
It hasn’t just been diehard comic book fans or horror enthusiasts tuning in to “The Walking Dead,” either. It was a range of viewers who became invested in the stories behind the characters; their struggles, triumphs and even deaths in the zombie apocalypse as a virus spread.
Of course, in “The Walking Dead” universe, the undead are never called the “zword,” mostly due to Kirkman’s insistence that these characters would have never seen a George A. Romero film. So instead, they’re called walkers, geeks, biters or — as they’re referred to in the latest spin-off series, “The Walking Dead: World Beyond” which also debuts on Sunday night — the empties.
Though as the main series and subsequent spinoff, “Fear the Walking Dead,” which debuts its sixth season on Oct. 11, have played out, it became painfully obvious that the undead — or whatever you want to call them — aren’t and never have been the main threat in the new and ever-evolving world.
As “The Walking Dead” celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, Gimple talked about some of the most pivotal moments of the series that elevated the narrative and played with the emotions of viewers.
In season one, for instance, Dr. Jenner at the CDC whispers to lead character Rick Grimes the truth about the virus: “Everyone is infected.” It’s not until the end of season two that Grimes reveals that fact to the rest of the group and the audience. Basically, the survivors are the walking dead.
“Then the opening of the barn at the end of the first half of season two,” Gimple said of the episode in which Carol Peletier’s daughter Sofia is finally discovered and she’s turned. “That essentially laid out the truth of the world for these characters. Shane and Rick got into what we can call a debate over what the world really was and Sofia as a walker was their answer. Rick had to step up and take care of that in the end and that really defined who he is.”
Most of the big turning points on the show came in the form of losing a main character in some emotional or very gruesome way.
“These characters had very full and rich stories,” Gimple said. “So we got to know them, we liked them and that made their deaths that much more painful. All of them, in some way, have been pretty seismic. The death of Hershel by The Governor really changed Rick’s perception of the world again. With Glenn and Abraham, those were monumental deaths. It was a watershed moment for the series and yes, it was painful.”
In this current season, Gimple said he’s probably most proud of the Daryl Dixon character and how actor Norman Reedus has blossomed in that role, as well as Melissa McBride as Carol, both of whom will be featured in yet another forthcoming spin-off series.
Heading into the final season of “The Walking Dead,” the show looks very different than when it began. Most of the early and main characters are dead. However, their legacy lives on through others who have come into the fold as this group of survivors continues to come up against a slew of villains and obstacles.
Some of the beloved characters may get a new life via Gimple’s developing episodic anthology series, “Tales of the Walking Dead,” which will focus on characters or places, their backstories and standalone experiences.
“We want to tell stories at all points throughout ‘The Walking Dead’ timeline,” he said. “I want to tell stories of the characters from ‘The Walking Dead,’ ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ and even ‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’ in different formats. Some will be animated episodes, a music-driven episode and I’m still fighting for a live episode.”
The newest series, “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” which was written and filmed well before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns began in March, feels alarmingly relevant for the moment. It follows four teenagers living 10 years into the apocalypse, still dealing with the virus, but also combating a slew of social issues with various powers that be.
“I don’t know if we’re proud about that or sad about that,” Gimple said of delivering such poignant content. “There’s a relationship there with what’s really going on today that we never intended obviously, but I hope that it’s a distraction for people and gives them something to ignite their own imaginations.”