The Walking Dead began airing on AMC in 2010, based on the popular comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. Frank Darabont ran the first season, which was very loyal to the comics and extremely disturbing. However, Darbont left after one season, and the series continued on to the end of Kirkman’s story, with some major highs and some disappointing lows along the way. AMC also aired spinoff shows, with prequels, side stories, and eventually sequels to the main series, each exploring a different side of the zombie-infested world. However, not all The Walking Dead shows are created equal.
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From the main series, which tells Robert Kirkman’s main story, to all the spinoffs set in his playground, here is every Walking Dead series to date, ranked.
7) Tales of the Walking Dead
None of The Walking Dead shows are bad. However, Tales of the Walking Dead ranks at the bottom simply because it was uneven. This is an anthology series, with each episode telling a story from around the world on The Walking Dead. One episode features known characters, with Samantha Morton’s Alpha, while the others are just ancillary stories.
The cast is incredible, featuring Anthony Edwards, Jessie T. Usher, and Parker Posey. The good news is that this series is accessible to any zombie fan, even if they do not know what happened in the regular series. However, as such, it is the least essential to watch for fans of The Walking Dead.
6) The Walking Dead: Dead City
Some fans might consider The Walking Dead: Dead City to be near the top of the list of sequels and spinoff series. There is a lot to love about the series, with Negan and Maggie in the lead roles five years after the main series came to an end. It was also very cool to see the action move to New York City, the largest metropolis seen in any of the shows to date. However, some things are holding it back.
For one thing, the constant squabbling between Negan and Maggie grew tiresome over the first season, and it seemed that Maggie was willing to betray the only man who could help her get her son back alive. This makes sense concerning their history, but it also slowed down the story and made it more complicated than it needed to be. The second season was an improvement, but it still seemed like a reason to make Maggie and Negan fight even more.
5) The Walking Dead: World Beyond
While it might not get the appreciation it deserves, The Walking Dead: World Beyond was a fascinating idea for a spinoff series. This looks at a group of teens who weren’t even born when the zombie apocalypse began, so this is the only world they know. That is an excellent idea on its own, but it also ties into the central mysteries from the main series about the Civic Republic Military (CRM) and the fact that this group is outright evil.
Having the young adults facing these great odds as an entire government agency that wants to kill anyone it can to keep the population down is horrifying, and it helps World Beyond stand out from the other dshows in the series. The only thing that holds it down is that it tried too hard to connect to the main characters, and that hurt the more interesting story of these kids trying to survive.
4) Fear the Walking Dead
Fear the Walking Dead is an interesting spin-off series because it is almost two different shows. The series began before the events of The Walking Dead and focused on an actual family trying to survive the zombie apocalypse in California. Having the show focus on a family unit was different enough, and having the zombie apocalypse just starting meant there were still a ton of survivors, showing fans something they missed on the main series.
The problem is that it didn’t get interesting until most of the people were dead, and the family the show followed was the worst part of the series. Once most of the family was dead and newcomers arrived, led by Lennie James’ Morgan, the show morphed into something different and much more interesting. The second half of Fear the Walking Dead was by far the best, and it isn’t even close.
3) The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live has one big thing going for it. The series stars two of the most popular characters, with Rick Grimes returning to finish his story and Michonne returning to wrap up the love story she built with Rick in the main series. This also helped wrap up the CRM storyline that ran through several of the shows.
Most fans were angry when Rick left the main series, because this ruined the storyline from the comics (as did Carl’s death). However, this spin-off allowed The Walking Dead to give Rick the goodbye he had been denied when he was written off the show before the Commonwealth storyline had a chance to take shape.
2) The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon did something no one thought could happen. It took the show to Europe, while retaining one of the most popular characters to ever appear on the series. Daryl Dixon was out looking for Rick and Michonne when he was abducted, put on a freighter, and shipped to Europe. He escaped and had grand adventures abroad.
The best thing about The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon was seeing Daryl as the lead, away from his friends and out of his comfort zone, and showing why he had become the best hero on the main series, even eclipsing Rick Grimes himself. When Carol showed up in Season 2, it just made the show even better.
1) The Walking Dead
The best show in the entire franchise remains the original, as the high points of The Walking Dead outweigh any of the disappointing moments in later seasons. The first season from Frank Darabont is still a masterclass in fear and dread. The second and third seasons, set in the prison and with the Governor, were excellent and delivered some fan-favorite moments from the comics.
There were downsides, not least of which was the entire rush through the Commonwealth, and the final seasons started to seem repetitive. However, with great original characters like Daryl, and some great horror storylines along the way, The Walking Dead remains the best zombie horror series to ever air on TV.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
