Why You Should be Watching The Walking Dead

Story by Kayla Judd, Reporter

Imagine yourself living in a world with no laws, no electricity or a safe place to live. Just you and strangers you’ve learned to trust and banded together with to survive. There’s also flesh eating zombies. Welcome to the world of the apocalypse.

AMC’s The Walking Dead is one of the most viewed drama shows on cable television with millions of viewers for every new episode. It’s not just about the zombies which attracts an audience who isn’t all about the gore and death shown.

According to elle.com, “In its seven years on the air, The Walking Dead has gone from moderately successful cult favorite to mainstream phenomenon. Its viewership has tripled since its 2010 premiere, and it’s been one of the most watched shows on television for four years running.”

The Walking Dead is about a group of survivors led by Rick Grimes in the apocalyptic world of zombies, more commonly known as “walkers”.

According to Wikipedia, “The Walking Dead is an ongoing black-and-white comic book series created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore”. The comic book series debuted in 2003 and was published by Image Comics. The show first aired on AMC in October, 2010.

Season one starts off with sheriff Rick and his partner Shane, pursuing criminals where Rick is shot and falls into a coma, later waking up to the world already fallen apart and his family missing.

When asked what has her hooked onto the show, sophomore Bella Villegas says “the question of where Carol and Rick are going to go because they are always moving from place to place”.

What most people find interesting about the show is that almost every season takes place in a different setting. Rick and his group are constantly on the move to find safety from the walkers, which is nearly impossible. Most of the episodes end with cliff hangers, leaving you at the edge of your seat to find out what happens next.

In a world with no laws, Rick has discovered that living human beings are just as dangerous, if not, even more dangerous than the walkers and cannot be trusted. The group has experienced trouble from cannibals and other survivors who decide to attack them rather than unite against the dead.

One of the reasons why people stick with watching the show is because of all the different characters that have been introduced, and characters that have been killed off. Viewers are interested in seeing how many of the original characters will make it through the apocalypse.

After each new episode of the Walking Dead, there is a follow up show called “The Talking Dead”, which explains what happens in the episode and they often include special guests who are typically people associated with the show or celebrities who are fans of the show.

The Walking Dead is still airing to this day and is currently on season 7. Apparently the producers already have plans for up to the 12th season!

If you are interested in watching Rick’s journey in the new world, seasons 1 through 6 are available on Netflix!