AMC had quite a run during the years of “Peak TV” in the 2000s and 2010s. “The Walking Dead” premiered in 2010 and quickly bacame one of the biggest shows on television.
The show was brutal, but it had plenty of heart. Here’s a quote from star Andrew Lincoln from one of our roundtable interviews linked below:
“When I read the pilot (for ‘The Walking Dead’), I kind of came with preconceived ideas, and it was exciting, it was thrilling, it was brutal, which I kind of expected with the genre. I didn’t expect it to be so witty, so funny, and, particularly, so moving. And I think that combination of emotions, irrespective of genre, just makes for compelling storytelling and compelling drama.”
We were there when the show launched as you’ll see in the interviews below. And we quickly became fans as well.
The show centers around a group of survivors navigating a world overrun by zombies, known as “walkers.” At the forefront is former sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes (Lincoln), who awakens from a coma to find the world devastated by this new, horrifying reality. As he sets out in search of his family, he becomes the reluctant leader of a group of survivors from all walks of life.
Throughout its seasons, “The Walking Dead” explored themes of survival, the effects of power, and what it means to retain humanity in a cruel and chaotic world.
Did the show go on too long? Perhaps. Many of us dropped off along the way. But there’s no question this show was an impressive achievement.
Interviews
Just because comic book adaptations are plentiful doesn’t mean that the buzz on them can’t still go completely through the roof. Back in 2010, the excitement surrounding the premiere of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” based on Robert Kirkman’s acclaimed comic book series, was such that the panel for the series at the New York Comic Con was standing room only…and that’s if you could even get in the room in the first place. (We couldn’t.)
Fortunately, Bullz-Eye was invited to participate in a series of roundtable interviews with members of the cast and and creative team, who provided us with a great deal of insight into a show which we knew with certainty would be sitting atop more than a few best-of lists come the end of 2010.
Frank Darabont and Robert Kirkman
Director and Graphic Novel Author | October 29, 2010
Frank Darabont: “My perception of the main task here is really to hew to the intention of what Robert (Kirkman) has done here, which is to tell these stories in the most unflinching and adult character-driven fashion possible.”
Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal and Sarah Wayne Callies
Rick, Shane, and Lori | October 29, 2010
Andrew Lincoln: “I read the pilot (for ‘The Walking Dead’) and didn’t expect it to be so witty and moving. That combination of emotions just makes for compelling storytelling.”
Laurie Holden, Steven Yeun and Norman Reedus
Andrea, Steven and Reedus | October 29, 2010
Norman Reedus: “I’m not in the comic book, so I don’t know where I’m headed. I’m kind of spiraling out into the universe right now. There’s a lot of creative energy flying around this.”
Gale Ann Hurd
Producer | October 29, 2010
“I’m one of those people who, on airplanes, it’s, like, ‘Okay, who’s this weird woman sitting next to me and reading a comic book?’ They’re reading Nobel Prize-winning literature, and I’m reading a comic book.”
“The Walking Dead” Blog
The Walking Dead
The network that brought us “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” produced abother hit with a comic book adaptation of the emotionally gripping and delightfully gory “The Walking Dead.” It’s impressive how long this show stayed relevant.
