The Walking Dead: Season 1
  • Network: AMC
  • Series Premiere Date: Oct 31, 2010
  • Season #: 1 , 2 , 3
Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 25 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
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  1. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    Dec 7, 2010
    100
    A zombie-apocalypse fantasy set in Atlanta, this is the scariest series U've ever seen. [8 Nov 2010, p.39]
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  2. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Nancy DeWolf Smith
    Oct 22, 2010
    100
    What makes The Walking Dead so much more than a horror show is that it plays with theatrical grandeur, on a canvas that feels real, looks cinematic and has an orchestral score to match. For all its set pieces, however, Walking is most breathtaking in its small moments, in which the pain and glory of being human are conveyed with only the flick of a filmmaking wrist.
  3. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Glenn Garvin
    Dec 7, 2010
    100
    This dark gem of a show about a zombie apocalypse gleams with hellfire incandescence.
  4. San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa Times
    Reviewed by: Chuck Barney
    Oct 28, 2010
    83
    Whereas most entries in the musty genre are simply inclined to go for cheap shrieks and lofty body counts, this saga defies expectations with a more humanistic approach.
  5. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    Oct 27, 2010
    83
    Dead is beautifully shot, but what it's shooting are former humans with rotting skin and bleating agonized groans. And like the comics, there's great, grim humor.
  6. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Oct 27, 2010
    100
    We actually root for many of the people we find living among The Walking Dead, which packs a raw, emotional punch while delivering the creepy and queasy thrills all genre fans truly crave.
  7. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Simon Abrams
    Oct 27, 2010
    88
    In the first half of director-screenwriter Frank Darabont's impeccable pilot episode for AMC's new adaptation, you feel the weight of time passing in ways that Kirkman always struggles with. To say that Darabont has kicked his series off with a bang would be a serious understatement.
  8. Salon
    Reviewed by: Heather Havrilesky
    100
    A film-quality drama series about zombies? Somebody pinch me!

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.4 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 985 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 204 out of 253
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 253
  3. Negative: 26 out of 253
  1. FrozenStar90
    10
    Bloody brilliant. Amazingly paced, extremely well-acted, and wholly consuming. "The Walking Dead" will have me nailed to my couch for the next five episodes. Hands-down the best show or movie to feature zombies in a long, long time.… Full Review »
  2. delightful
    3
    Points for production values; the elaborate city scenes were convincing, grand, and well-choreographed. The cinematography was quite good, especially the tense opening sequence which had some beautiful long takes. But I was unable to give a **** about any character (except the poor horse). The acting fit the parts well enough, but these characters feel so recycled and ordinary that they're unreal. You really sense the writers trying to tug our heart-strings -- the manipulative plotting left me cold. It's a low-grade melodrama that fails to address any substantive social issues (unlike the excellent 28 Days Later). There was definitely some excitement in the long city sequence, in a survival-horror kind of way. If the characters weren't so hollow, and the dialogue so canned, the action sequences would have some weight behind them. Walking Dead gives the impression of a totally insincere, mass-market cash-grab made to capitalize on the zombie fad.… Full Review »
  3. ftfh40
    0
    I can't believe the number of sheep who lap up this garbage with zeal. I've come to the conclusion that the writers haven't yet let us in on the survivors' ultimate plan: bore the zombies death by spending two-thirds of every episode discussing their feelings.… Full Review »
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