‘Walking Dead’ changed course of TV revolution
AMC drama proved prestige didn’t have to mean boutique
“The Walking Dead” recently came to an end. Though I, like many viewers, stopped watching several seasons ago, attention must be paid.
If not to the actual finale — honestly, can it really be considered a finale when there are so many spinoffs in the works? — then to what it means.
“The Walking Dead” is the last founding member of the 21st century’s television revolution. It leaves a popular culture and industry so different from the one it entered that it’s all but unrecognizable.
AMC debuted its adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s graphic-novel vision of a zombie apocalypse in 2010 at Comic-Con, back when the geek fest was still new to the TV publicity game. The channel known as American Movie Classics was new to the game too, having launched original scripted content just three years earlier, but it had done it decisively. “Mad Men,” an award-winning series, quickly left such a deep — and deeply fanatical — cultural footprint that its infinitesimal viewership (its first season averaged
1.6 million viewers) seemed almost unimportant.
Ratings! Almost unimportant!
Suddenly HBO and other non-ratings-reliant premium channels had competition; the age of basic cable prestige television had begun.
On its (often moldering and putrefying) face, “The Walking Dead” did not fit the prestige model. True, HBO had successfully dipped its toe in the swampy waters of the genre with Alan Ball’s “True Blood,” but that was vampires, and vampires have always
been, as Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” novels proved, at least a little sexy.
Zombies, not so much. Which, in the months leading up to the debut, struck many people as a problem. A zombie series did not seem like the appropriate follow-up to “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad.” Zombies are disgusting. A two-hour movie? Fine. An entire series? Who would watch that?
Way more people than ever watched “Mad Men”
— and they engaged with it just as fanatically.
As a critic, I had watched the convergence of television and fandom — all those recapping blogs — with interest and anticipation. The enormous popularity of films like “Iron Man” and “Twilight” proved the power of a deeply connected audience. Television was thriving on the unexpected, and a zombie epic was certainly unexpected.
And pretty good, right out of the box. Yes, there were zombies, and wildeyed encounters with survivors, but it quickly became clear that the series was just more world-building character study than monster mash.
The box it came out of was an impressive one too. On AMC, “Mad Men” was holding strong and “Breaking Bad” was gaining steam. HBO, which already had “Big Love” and “In Treatment,” debuted “Boardwalk Empire” and “Treme.” Showtime, mid-“Dexter” and “Nurse Jackie,” brought
Laura Linney back to the small screen with “The Big C”; FX, in the final season of “Nip/Tuck,” debuted “Justified” and “Terriers.” “Pretty Little Liars” arrived on ABC Family and became the first show to truly leverage the power of Twitter.
“Adventure Time,” “Parenthood,” “Louie” and “The Great British Bake
Off ” — a slew of groundbreaking television debuted in 2010 along with a bunch of other great, not so great and really bad shows. It was a giddy time for anyone writing about television because everyone was talking about television.
Into all this rode Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes and the iconic image of a lone man on a horse moving down the middle of a highway littered with abandoned cars toward a silent city swarming with the dead — while millions cheered. And gasped, yelped, laughed and wept. Zombies were gross, but they, like vampires, were also us — as were the diverse array of survivors.
Most important, “TWD” proved that in this brave new world, where virtually every television platform including the History Channel was or soon would be airing scripted content, prestige didn’t have to mean boutique. Debuting with a respectable-forcable average of 5.6 million, “The Walking Dead” at its height drew more than 17 million viewers, a tremendous number for the time even by broadcast standards.
By comparison, “Downton Abbey,” which debuted just a few months after “TWD,” peaked at just above 13 million. “Downton” became one of the few prestige shows that had both high ratings and multiple Emmy nominations; the television academy has ignored “The Walking Dead” throughout its 11-season run.
Even without the awards season press that proved vital to so many shows and emerging platforms, “The
Walking Dead” quickly became one of the most talked-about shows on television. So much so that in 2011, AMC launched “Talking Dead,” a live aftershow series in which host Chris Hardwick interviewed fans, actors and creators about the episode that had just aired.
The popularity — and only slightly cynical genius — of the plan set a template for virtually every big show to create second-platform products, be they after-shows, streaming bonus features or in-house podcasts.
But the world of television has changed since 2010. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and other streaming services have made it increasingly difficult to keep track of new shows as they debut, never mind focus the cultural conversation or even an engaged fandom on a few shows.
The ability to watch what you want to watch when you want to watch it means you are often watching it alone, which makes talking about television much more difficult. Fandoms still exist, but they are more diffuse.
After 11 seasons, it is not surprising that the audience for “The Walking Dead” has dropped precipitously — this season’s average of 2.2 million might have been OK for “Mad Men,” or even “Better Call Saul,” a critic’s darling that drew 1.8 million for its series finale. But for “TWD” it means, sadly, ending with more a whimper than a bang.
Though as previously mentioned, it is hardly an ending. With “Fear the Walking Dead” entering its eighth season, “Tales of the Walking Dead” having debuted in August and at least three more spinoffs in the works, the show that many feared would tarnish AMC’s revolutionary legacy has come to define it.
Franchise fever has come to the small screen. We have “The Walking Dead” to thank for that too.
All events are subject to postponement and/or cancellation due to the coronavirus pandemic. Please check with the events’ websites for updates.
Top of the World: A Carpenter’s Tribute:
Dec. 11, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
Nutcracker! Magic of Christmas Ballet:
Dec. 13, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
Westminster concert Bell Choir: Dec. 16, Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem. 610-7582787, zoellnerartscenter.org.
Allentown Symphony Orchestra: Holiday Pops:
Dec. 17, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown. 610-432-6715, millersymphonyhall.org
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox:
Dec. 17, Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem. 610758-2787, zoellnerartscenter. org.
Christmas with the Celts:
Dec. 18, Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem. 610-758-2787, zoellnerartscenter.org.
The Wizards of Winter:
Dec. 18, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
Peepsfest:
Dec. 30-31, SteelStacks, Bethlehem. steelstacks.org
PA Farm Show: Jan. 7-14, Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg. Friendsoffarmshow. com
Jim McGee’s New Kind of Talk:
Jan. 13, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown. 610-4326715, millersymphonyhall.org
Disney On Ice presents Let’s Celebrate:
Jan. 19-22, PPL Center, Allentown. pplcenter.com
Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood: Sacred Scriptless:
Jan. 20, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
The Brubeck Brothers:
Jan. 21, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown. 610-432-6715, millersymphonyhall.org
The Flying Karamazov Brothers:
Jan. 27, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
Menopause the Musical:
Feb. 3, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
KU Presents: Popovich Comedy Pet Theater:
Feb. 5, Kutztown University. Kupresents.org
KU Presents: Pat Hazell’s The Wonder Years Bread Years:
Feb. 8, Kutztown University. Kupresents.org
Allentown Symphony Orchestra: Dvorak’s “New World:”
Feb. 11-12, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown. 610-432-6715, millersymphonyhall.org
The Harlem Globetrotters 2023 World Tour:
Feb. 17, PPL Center, Allentown. pplcenter.com.
Hairspray:
Feb. 18, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
Company: The Musical:
Feb. 23-26, Cedar Crest College, Allentown cedarcrest. edu/stage.
Monster Jam:
Feb. 24-26, PPL Center, Allentown. pplcenter.com
Sister Act:
Feb. 24-March 12, Civic Theatre, Allentown. civictheatre.com
Red Hot Chilli Pipers:
March 2, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
A Night with Vic Dibitteto and Eric D’Allesandro:
March 4, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
The Book of Mormon:
March 7-9, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre. org
KU Presents: The Kingdom Choir:
March 9, Kutztown University. Kupresents.org
Rhythm of the Dance:
March 10, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
Allentown Symphony Orchestra: Daphnis Et Chloe:
March 11-12, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown. 610-4326715, millersymphonyhall.org
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.:
March 16, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
Trouble in Mind:
March 1726, Civic Theatre, Allentown. civictheatre.com
KU Presents: The Jason Bishop Show:
March 19, Kutztown University. Kupresents.org
Keely and Du:
March 23-26, Cedar Crest College, Allentown cedarcrest.edu/ stage.
Satori: From Baroque to Contemporary:
March 25, Christ Lutheran Church, Allentown. 610-435-6036, satori-chambermusic.org
KU Presents: John Pizzarelli & Catherine Russell:
March 29, Kutztown University. Kupresents.org
Jay Leno:
April 7, The State Theatre, Easton. statetheatre.org
Allentown Symphony Orchestra: Tchaikovsky’s Fourth:
April 15-16, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown. 610-432-6715, millersymphonyhall.org
KU Presents: Laura Benanti:
April 19, Kutztown University. Kupresents.org