The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series developed by Frank Darabont. It is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The series stars Andrew Lincoln as sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.
The Walking Dead premiered on October 31, 2010, on the cable television channel AMC in the United States. It premiered internationally during the first week of November 2010 on Fox International Channels. Based on its reception, AMC renewed the series for a second season of 13 episodes, which premiered on October 16, 2011. Two episodes into the second season, AMC announced that the show would return for a third season of 16 episodes, which began airing on October 14, 2012. On December 21, 2012, AMC renewed The Walking Dead for a fourth season of 16 episodes, which premiered on October 13, 2013. On October 29, 2013, AMC renewed it for a fifth season.
The series has been well received and has been nominated for many awards, including the Writers Guild of America Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series -- Drama.The series has also attained strong Nielsen ratings, surpassing various records for a cable series, including viewership of 16.1 million for its season four premiere, making it the most-watched drama series telecast in basic cable history.
