The Walking Dead (2010)
Fight the dead. Fear the living.
Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes 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.
| Type | TV series |
|---|---|
| First aired | 31 October 2010 |
| Status | Ended, last episode 20 November 2022 |
| Genre | Action & Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy |
| Created by | Frank Darabont |
| Starring | Lauren Cohan, Norman Reedus and Jeffrey Dean Morgan |
| Seasons | 11 seasons, 177 episodes |
| Episode length | about 45 min |
| Time to watch it all | about 133 hours |
| Rated | TV-MA |
| Scores | TMDB users 8.1/10 |
Where to watch The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is streaming on Netflix ($17.99 a month) in the US. At ten hours a week, all of the series takes about 4 months of Netflix, or $71.96 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 30 September 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
What kind of watch this is
The Walking Dead is an action-adventure drama that leans into sci-fi and fantasy territory, created by Frank Darabont. It tracks Sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes as he navigates a world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. The series ran for 11 seasons and 177 episodes. With a runtime of 45 minutes per episode, the full run takes roughly 133 hours to watch. It is for viewers who appreciate the tagline: fight the dead, fear the living.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes gives the series an average score of 80%. The first season sits at 87%, backed by a Metacritic score of 82. Critics called it "blood-spattered" and "intelligent." The second season dropped to 80%, with Metacritic at 80. The complaints that did come were about pace, mostly the first half of season 2. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly called it "a nighttime soap" and compared it to "a parody of a Samuel Beckett play," which is harsh on the show and not much kinder to Beckett. Later critics agreed the pace improved. Scott Wampler of Collider.com said the second half was "far more intense."
How it did with audiences
The Walking Dead started with 4 to 6 million viewers. By seasons 3 through 7, that number climbed to 10 to 17 million. In 2012, it became the first cable series to lead the fall season in 18- to 49-year-old adults. The fifth-season premiere in 2014 drew 17.3 million viewers, the most-watched cable episode in history. A 2016 New York Times study noted its Facebook popularity concentrated in rural areas, specifically southern Texas and eastern Kentucky. Ratings then slid, with viewership hitting its lowest point since season 1 by the end of season 9. On TMDB, users rate it 8.1 out of 10.
What came next for the cast
Norman Reedus moved from American Gangster and Blade II to Vacation and Triple 9. Danai Gurira shifted from The Visitor to Black Panther and the Avengers films. Lauren Cohan jumped from The Vampire Diaries to Batman v Superman. Melissa McBride returned for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. The timeline suggests a pivot, but credits do not prove causation.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched The Walking Dead.
Sources
- The Walking Dead on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q232737 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “The Walking Dead (TV series)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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