Amy (Emma Bell), Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal), Glenn (Steven Yeun), Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs), Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies), Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) and Andrea (Laurie Holden) - The Walking Dead - Season 1 - Photo Credit: Matthew Welch / AMC Amy (Emma Bell), Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal), Glenn (Steven Yeun), Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs), Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies), Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) and Andrea (Laurie Holden) – The Walking Dead – Season 1 – Photo Credit: Matthew Welch / AMC /

AMC was fortunate that HBO turned down The Walking Dead for being too violent, a reason in modern times that would seem absurd. The network had two huge series to its name, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, but The Walking Dead put them in the forefront.

The Walking Dead season 1 /

The pilot, “Days Gone Bye,” was viewed by 5.3 million people and set the bar for other movies and shows in the genre. Viewers were enthralled by the series, which was set in an undead apocalypse featuring stories about the survivors. The series saw huge viewership numbers for many years.

AMC aired its series finale on Nov. 20, 2022. The series concluded after 12 years, 11 seasons, and 177 episodes. Many die-hard fans longed for more, but the series lost considerable viewership after the season 7 premiere.

Danai Gurira as Michonne; Michael Cudlitz as Sgt Abraham Ford; Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene; Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes; Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha; Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes; Josh McDermitt as Dr Eugene Porter – The Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC /

Fans remember well the season 7 premiere episode in which comic book villain, Negan Smith (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) was introduced. “That Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” is the beginning of the downward spiral of the series. Many viewers couldn’t stomach the violence and gore they witnessed during the horrific deaths of Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun). While this scene was straight from the comics, many series viewers never read the comic story and were caught unaware. Years later, some of the show’s creators admit including this scene was a mistake.

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC /

Another huge mistake the series made was killing off Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs). Viewers watched Carl grow from a young boy and killing him enraged a huge number of people in the fan base. Fans longed to see him years later with a happy ending as he did in the comics, but this was not to be.

The series did redeem itself in the last three seasons, even though Andrew Lincoln, who played Rick Grimes and Danai Gurira who played Michonne departed the series. The final season consisted of 24 episodes released in three segments.

Fans can view all eleven seasons of The Walking Dead on Netflix. The streamer has an ongoing relationship with AMC and currently offers several original series including The Walking Dead spinoffs, Daryl Dixon and Dead City.