Sunday evenings television viewing in my home used to belong to HBO. Many of my favorite programs have been on the premium cable network. "The Sopranos", "Six Feet Under", "Big Love", "Entourage", and "True Blood" are some of the past and current series that I looked forward to on Sunday nights. The shows provided several water cooler moments that folks were certain to discuss at work and online.
AMC is starting to steal some thunder from HBO. "AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to ever win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series three years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe® Award for Best Television Series - Drama for three consecutive years."1 I find it interesting that their successful show "Mad Men" which I also enjoy was passed on by both HBO and Showtime. Sometimes it pays to go against the grain in television and take a gamble.
"The Walking Dead", which AMC debuted on October 31, 2010, tells the story about the months and years that follow a zombie apocalypse. The series debuted with very strong viewership ratings and was lauded by critics. Over 5.3 million viewers watched the first episode, translating into the largest audience AMC has had for any of its original shows. In the adult 18-49 demographic, it was the highest delivery for any cable series premiere in 2010.2 It is written and executive produced by Frank Darabont, the director of "The Shawshank Redemption," and "The Green Mile," and executive produced by Gale Ann Hurd, the producer of "The Terminator," and "Aliens."
What makes "The Walking Dead" such an appealing show to me is that it really is more about survival, raw human emotion, and relationships than it is about zombies. Certainly there is a fair share of gore and blood that one would expect in typical zombie fare, but the show has excelled in its ability to make us care about its characters.
Never before has a show, or film for that matter, made its viewers feel empathy for both living and the undead characters it presents to us. While it invokes frightful depictions of zombies or "walkers" as the show characters call them, we feel sympathy for these horrific looking characters. It makes us think about how we would react if our loved ones were to succumb to a fate that would decrease our chances of survival. The reality of "The Walking Dead" is fetched from the successful comic book series by Robert Kirkman, and there is no chance we would never encounter such events. However, as you watch this series, your mind wanders and you think about realities in our society such as biological warfare, and possible global pandemics. You start to think... "What if that really happened."
Although the first brief 6 episode season of "The Walking Dead" is coming to a close on December 5th, I am already eagerly anticipating the 13 episode season 2 that is slated to appear next fall.
Are you a fan of "The Walking Dead?" I'd love to hear your comments about the show!
1 Source: Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC - parent company of AMC
2 Source: www.thefutoncritic.com
