The Walking Dead: all about the TV series



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Produced by AMC network, The Walking Dead is a horror and survival TV series based on the homonymous comic book series, written by Robert Kirkman, also executive producer of the show, and illustrated by Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard under Image Comics label. The serial transposition was originally conceived by director Frank Darabont, and launched on Halloween night in 2010 during Fearfest.

In Italy, however, was broadcast almost simultaneously by FOX from November 1 of that year, with a first season consisting of only 6 episodes. The immediate success pushed the writers to significantly increase the number of episodes over time, arriving at a final eleventh season that will close the main plot.

The Walking Dead: the plot

In comparison to the comics, the post-apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead series retraces most of the same events, but introduces several innovations in the story, such as some new characters. The plot drags us into a dystopian reality in which a mysterious zombie virus has brought the world population to its knees, unleashing a real Apocalypse on Earth. In the pilot episode, we see the deputy sheriff Rick Grimes waking up in the hospital after being in a coma following a shootout with some thugs.

At his awakening, however, the hospital is completely deserted and devastated by obvious signs of struggle: everything is now destroyed, and humans have been transformed into ravenous undead. Rick will run into one of the survivors, Morgan Jones, who has barricaded himself in the house with his son after the death of his wife, and who will try to help the now ex-cop.

Still hopeful of finding his family alive, Rick sets off for nearby Atlanta, still not knowing what awaits him. During the course of the show, as in The Walking Dead comic book, there will be several jumps in time with the succession of seasons, with a, what happens in the ninth, particularly large.

The Walking Dead: all seasons

For eleven years, The Walking Dead wanted to stage not only the zombie apocalypse and sequences of action and terror remained in the hearts of viewers, but also and above all the different facets of the human soul. The undead and the consequent post-apocalyptic world are in fact a mere pretext to analyze human relations in a reality so different, in which the real "walking dead" are those same survivors ready to do anything not to lose their lives. The plot, as we said, develops in 11 different seasons, which we will now talk about in more detail.

First season

The Walking Dead year zero is marked by the awakening of Rick Grimes in the hospital, when he discovers that the world as he knew it is profoundly changed. Perhaps forever. These six episodes cover a time frame of about two months, which will take the group of survivors Rick put together all the way to the CDC in Atlanta, looking for answers about the spread of the epidemic.

Second Season

The second season then covers an even shorter time frame of about a month. The group led by Rick Grimes will arrive at the farm run by Hershel Greene and what's left of his family. Here, it will experience several tragedies, which will lead the individual survivors to clash with each other several times.

Third season

Considering the incredible response from audiences and critics, the third season expands the number of episodes to 16, presenting them to the audience divided into two parts of 8 episodes each. It then covers a longer period of time, we're talking about 8 months, narrating the escape from Hershel's farm, a prison used as a refuge, and the bloody confrontation with the Governor and his community.

Fourth season

In the fourth season we see a new destruction, that of the prison, during the final confrontation with the Governor, and a further separation of the original group of protagonists. For a time span of another 6 months.

Fifth season

For a time amounting to just over a month, season 5 tells of the journey of hope to Terminus by Rick and his crew, who end up discovering the true nature of the place that seemed to be the promised land of every survivor of the epidemic. The arrival of a character named Aaron, however, will bring the group to Alexandria, which will become their new home.

Season Six

In season six, the anti-heroes protagonists meet Jesus, a member of the community of Hilltop, but also the so-called Saviors and their frightening leader: Negan. The latter will put the group's abilities to the test and will change the course of the narrative forever.

Seventh season

Season 7 has one of the most incisive and at the same time painful beginnings of the entire show inspired by Robert Kirkman's comics. In fact, in the opening we witness Negan's massacre of some members of the group, kneeling and helpless in front of the leader of the Saviors and Lucille, his faithful spiked baseball bat. We then get acquainted with the community of Oceanside, thanks to Tara, and the Kingdom of King Ezekiel, as well as Jadis and the community living in the dump. The whole season takes place in just two weeks, the shortest time frame in the entire history of The Walking Dead.

Seventh season

For another two months or so, season 8 continues to focus on the fight against Negan and his violent Saviors, until an epilogue not as obvious as it might seem.

Ninth season

The ninth season, unlike the seventh, is the one that covers the longest time frame. That's because, in a twist that's bound to strike a chord with every fan of the show, the plot jumps forward a full 6 years, with the lives of the characters completely changed from the past.

Tenth season

The war against the Whisperers encountered in the previous season continues in the tenth, pushing the time elapsed since the start of the zombie outbreak to almost 11 years.

Eighteenth season

By AMC's own admission, season 11 of The Walking Dead is the last, and is called to close with dignity a show that, through ups and downs, has still made the history of the serial universe. Divided into three parts, it is exceptionally composed of a total of 24 episodes. Più stanchi e affamati che mai, i sopravvissuti devono trovare la forza di salvaguardare la vita dei loro figli, anche a costo di perdere la propria.

The Walking Dead: personaggi e cast

Trattandosi di una serie di natura post apocalittica, in The Walking Dead le morti sono all’ordine del giorno. Così come lo è l’arrivo di nuovi personaggi ad arricchire il cast. Ecco perché, poco più sotto, riportiamo solo l’elenco dei personaggi principali e di quelli maggiormente ricorrenti nelle varie puntate, con i nomi dei rispettivi interpreti:

  • Rick Grimes (stagioni 1-9), interpretato da Andrew Lincoln.
  • Shane Walsh (stagioni 1-2; ospite: stagioni 3, 9), interpretato da Jon Bernthal.
  • Lori Grimes (stagioni 1-3), interpretata da Sarah Wayne Callies.
  • Andrea (stagioni 1-3), interpretata da Laurie Holden.
  • Dale Horvath (stagioni 1-2), interpretato da Jeffrey DeMunn.
  • Glenn Rhee (stagioni 1-7), interpretato da Steven Yeun.
  • Carl Grimes (stagioni 1-8), interpretato da Chandler Riggs.
  • Daryl Dixon (ricorrente: stagione 1; regolare: stagioni 2-11), interpretato da Norman Reedus.
  • Carol Peletier (ricorrente: stagioni 1-2; regolare: stagioni 3-11), interpretata da Melissa McBride.
  • Merle Dixon (ricorrente: stagione 1; ospite: stagione 2; regolare: stagione 3), interpretato da Michael Rooker.
  • Morgan Jones (ospite: stagioni 1, 3; ricorrente: stagione 5; regolare: stagioni 6-8), interpretato da Lennie James.
  • Hershel Greene (ricorrente: stagione 2; regolare: stagioni 3-4; ospite: stagione 9), interpretato da Scott Wilson.
  • Maggie Greene (ricorrente: stagione 2; regolare: stagioni 3-11), interpretata da Lauren Cohan.
  • Beth Greene (ricorrente: stagioni 2-3; regolare: stagioni 4-5), interpretata da Emily Kinney.
  • Michonne (stagioni 3-10), interpretata da Danai Gurira.
  • Philip Blake (stagioni 3-4; ospite: stagione 5), interpretato da David Morrissey.
  • Judith Grimes (ricorrente: stagioni 3-9; regolare: stagioni 10-11), interpretata da Cailey Fleming.
  • Tyreese Williams (ricorrente: stagione 3; regolare: stagioni 4-5), interpretato da Chad Coleman.
  • Sasha Williams (ricorrente: stagione 3; regolare: stagioni 4-7; ospite: stagione 9), interpretata da Sonequa Martin-Green.
  • Bob Stookey (stagioni 4-5), interpretato da Lawrence Gilliard Jr.
  • Tara Chambler (ricorrente: stagione 4; regolare: stagioni 5-9), interpretata da Alanna Masterson.
  • Abraham Ford (ricorrente: stagione 4; regolare: stagioni 5-7), interpretato da Michael Cudlitz.
  • Eugene Porter (ricorrente: stagione 4; regolare: stagioni 5-11), interpretato da Josh McDermitt.
  • Rosita Espinosa (ricorrente: stagione 4; regolare: stagioni 5-11), interpretata da Christian Serratos.
  • Gabriel Stokes (stagioni 5-11), interpretato da Seth Gilliam.
  • Aaron (ricorrente: stagione 5; regolare: stagioni 6-11), interpretato da Ross Marquand.
  • Jessie Anderson (ricorrente: stagione 5; regolare: stagione 6), interpretata da Alexandra Breckenridge.
  • Deanna Monroe (ricorrente: stagione 5; regolare: stagione 6), interpretata da Tovah Feldshuh.
  • Spencer Monroe (ricorrente: stagione 5; regolare: stagioni 6-7), interpretato da Austin Nichols.
  • Enid (ricorrente: stagioni 5-7; regolare: stagioni 8-9), interpretata da Katelyn Nacon.
  • Dwight (ricorrente: stagione 6; regolare: stagioni 7-8), interpretato da Austin Amelio.
  • Paul Rovia (ricorrente: stagione 6; regolare: stagioni 7-9), interpretato da Tom Payne.
  • Gregory (ospite: stagione 6; regolare: stagioni 7-9), interpretato da Xander Berkeley.
  • Negan (ospite: stagione 6; regolare: stagioni 7-11), interpretato da Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
  • Simon (ospite: stagione 6; ricorrente: stagione 7; regolare: stagione 8), interpretato da Steven Ogg.
  • Ezekiel (ricorrente: stagione 7; regolare: stagioni 8-11), interpretato da Khary Payton.
  • Jerry (ricorrente: stagioni 7-9; regolare: stagioni 10-11), interpretato da Cooper Andrews.
  • Jadis (ricorrente: stagione 7; regolare: stagioni 8-9), interpretata da Pollyanna McIntosh.
  • Siddiq (ricorrente: stagione 8; regolare: stagioni 9-10), interpretato da Avi Nash.
  • Alden (ricorrente: stagione 8; regolare: stagioni 9-11), interpretato da Callan McAuliffe.
  • Magna (ricorrente: stagione 9; regolare: stagioni 10-11), interpretata da Nadia Hilker.
  • Yumiko (ricorrente: stagione 9; regolare: stagioni 10-11), interpretata da Eleanor Matsuura.
  • Connie (ricorrente: stagione 9; regolare: stagioni 10-11), interpretata da Lauren Ridloff.
  • Lydia (ricorrente: stagione 9; regolare: stagioni 10-11), interpretata da Cassady McClincy.
  • Alpha (stagioni 9-10), interpretata da Samantha Morton.
  • Beta (ricorrente: stagione 9; regolare: stagione 10), interpretato da Ryan Hurst.
  • Juanita “Principessa" Sanchez (ricorrente: stagione 10; regolare: stagione 11), interpretata da Paola Lázaro.
  • Mercer (stagione 11), interpretato da Michael James Shaw.

Dove vedere The Walking Dead in streaming

Per anni legata al nome di FOX, oggi The Walking Dead si ritrova a costellare il vastissimo firmamento di stelle di casa Disney. Dal 2 luglio 2021 le prime 10 stagioni della serie sono infatti state rese disponibili sulla piattaforma streaming Disney+ nella sezione Star in esclusiva, ad uso e consumo di tutti gli abbonati. Dal 23 agosto dello stesso anno è stata inoltre pubblicata l’undicesima stagione, sempre in esclusiva e visibile interamente in streaming.