The Walking Dead Season Two Trailer

Again, thank you AMC for more sleepless nights.

Season Two of The Walking Dead premiers in October.

The Walking Dead Season Two - First Pics

"BRAINSSS"

 AMC has released some pictures from the upcoming season.

Last year I had trouble sleeping after watching the pilot.

I dare them to try that again.

Season Two of The Walking Dead premires on October 23rd.

'Walking Dead' Marathon Culminates in Season Ender

The Walking Dead ends it’s brief but successful first season tonight. If you have missed any episodes (or you just want to watch them all again) AMC is running all of them today beginning at 4:30 p.m./3:30 p.m. CST.  The marathon ends with the final new episode of the season before the series takes its 10-month hiatus. The Walking Dead has departed from the original comic book’s first story arc pretty significantly as of last week’s ending. It will be interesting to see what other veering the show will do in terms of plotting, tonight and once it comes back for an elongated (thirteen episodes) second season.

'Walking Dead' Ratings and Season 1 DVD News

The Walking Dead saw it’s best ratings this past weekend with 5.5 million viewers tuning in to watch the Rick Grimes and a shrinking group of survivors gain a modicum of hope at the end of the season’s penultimate episode.

My guess is that a cover story on Entertainment Weekly with the proclamation “Best New Show of the Year” must have piqued enough interest to cause a spike. Regardless, this show has turned out phenomenal ratings and plenty of buzz.

More good news came today with the announcement of the Spring 2011 release of The Walking Dead Season 1 DVD/BluRay.

One more episode reamins before the series ends it first season this Sunday (sneak peek below). A 13-episode second season is not expected until October 2011.

EW Calls 'Walking Dead' the Best New Show on TV

Did anybody expect The Walking Dead to become the sensation that it has so quickly become?

True, the first trailer for the new AMC series seemed promising for sure, but the series has seemed to defy anybody’s expectations, however high they might have been. Today Entertainment Weekly announced a cover story on the show with perhaps the best praise the it has received to date: “The Best New Show on TV”.

While the first few episodes demonstrated quickly that the series is like nothing that has come before it—a long form drama about a group of the living survivors of a zombie apocalypse—it’s the past two episodes that evoked what is at the heart of the comic book: human drama.

I’ve only read the first four arcs of Robert Kirkman’s long-running title, but what has struck me is the amount of focus, however uncomfortable, on how this dark new world affects the people who inhabit it. It’s fascinating and gut wrenching.

In “Tell it to the Frogs” there is a charmingly authentic scene where the ladies of the camp list what they miss about their former lives. Things changes dramatically as Shane, whose boiling point has been reached, finds a vessel for his rage. Then there’s the wonderful scene in which Rick and Lori lie together for the first time in weeks and share a quiet discussion that is touching and romantic. Lori, who is keeping a dark secret, reveals that she has been wearing his wedding band and quietly asks “Do you want it back?” It is the scenes like this that are as surprising as those where the zombies come seemingly out of nowhere.

The cast, led by Andrew Lincoln as Rick, is well suited for the material. My personal favorites are Laurie Holden (The Mist and The Shield) as Andrea and Jeffrey DeMunn (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile) as Dale. Holden brings a genuine presence to her role, especially in a scene with her sister as they discuss fishing with their father in last week’s “Vatos” episode (penned by Kirkman). There’s a reason why writer/producer Frank Darabont continues to work with DeMunn; he’s a character actor who can say as much with an expression as he can with his lines. As DeMunn gets more to do on the series, I’m sure he’ll grow to be a favorite of audiences as well.

The Walking Dead and its success is an indication that the television landscape is ready to welcome more alternative programming. Now cross your fingers that we won’t have to wait eleven months for a second season!

Season Two of 'Walking Dead' Not Likely Until Late 2011

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that AMC is "likely" to not air the second season of The Walking Dead until next October (yes, the October in 2011). Considering that the current season is only a mite six episodes, a near 11-month wait for the next season may seem as frightening as a zombie apocalypse. While the second season will feature 13 episodes, that is may not be enough to appease viewers who continue to tune into AMC’s bona fide hit (5.1 viewers tuned in for Sunday’s third episode—up from the previous week).

'Walking Dead' Mini-Marathon Airs This Sunday

How many chances do we get to do it all over again? AMC wants to help you repair at least one life choice in case you made the mistake of missing the first two episodes of The Walking Dead. The first two episodes will begin at 8 p.m./7 p.m. Central with limited commercial interruptions. This will be followed by a new first run epsisode of the series at 10 p.m.

'Walking Dead' Has Legs, Second Season Greenlit by AMC

On last night's The Walking Dead, audiences learned that zombie carcasses probably don't smell so fresh. Well the lessons of the undead have only just begun! AMC has picked up The Walking Dead for a double-sized second season (13 episodes as compared to the first season's six). And why wouldn't they? The Walking Dead has become a bonafide hit after only two airings, garnering the largest audience of adults aged 18-49 than any cable program in history.

Congratulations to Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead creator) and Frank Darabont (series director/producer), the men who will continue to bring our nightmares to life!

Watch 'The Walking Dead' Premiere for Free (Legally)

If you missed the first episode of The Walking Dead, fear not, AMC is now streaming the premiere in its entirety for free. You may not be so lucky with upcoming episodes, but watch and see why over 5 million viewers tuned in last Sunday.

5.3 Million Viewers for 'The Walking Dead' Premiere

Strong buzz and a quality pilot delivered exactly what AMC hoped for with last night’s premiere of The Walking Dead: the highest series premiere for any cable program of 2010 and AMC’s highest series debut ever. Coming from the network that brought us Mad Men and Breaking Bad, that is really saying something.

The Halloween premiere garnered an audience of 5.3 million viewers (8.3 million if you include the encore showings) ready to accept a series revolving around a group of survivors trying to find a way to survive in a world infested with zombies. It will be interesting to see how the series fairs in the coming weeks as the story continues to unfold.

Stay tuned.

Review: 'The Walking Dead'

By Don M. Ventura

AMC's new series The Walking Dead starts with a powerful punch to set it apart from anything on television before we flashback to kinder gentler times when zombies aren’t walking around... dead.

We open with deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) commiserating over his marital problems with his best friend, and fellow deputy, Shane (Jon Bernthal). According to his wife Lori he doesn’t care enough, he doesn’t speak enough, and has a propensity for leaving the lights on when he leaves a room. The battle between men and women continues.

Rick is soon shot in the line of duty and awakens some time later alone in the hospital. All alone. Things have changed since Rick was shot and it’s unclear to the poor deputy just how much.

The Walking Dead is the adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s long-running comic book of the same name. In the book Kirkman asks what happens to everyone after a zombie movie ends? How do they survive? What choices do they make? Who do they become?

We begin to get a taste of that here in this fantastic debut by Director and Producer Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile). This series is in the ablest of hands, and Darabont demonstrates his affinity both for horror and (more importantly) drama. For the uninitiated, The Walking Dead has been more about the drama then it is the horror—but make not mistake, it is pretty horrific.

There is no pulling of punches in the story. Viewers are treated to some pretty nightmarish imagery: a little girl with a mangled face, a suffering female zombie dragging her body (everything below the torso missing), and a number of shots to the head. If you’ve seen Darabont’s The Mist, you’d know he doesn’t have a problem with gore.

Lincoln is well cast as Rick Grimes, a sort of Rip Van Winkle who immediately begin a quest to locate his wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and their son Carl (Chandler Riggs). Lincoln spends about a third of the episode without anyone to act against and evokes precisely what you would expect: confusion, dread, and eventually sadness as he comes to realize he is not immediately going to be reunited with his family.

In a film you get a feel for how terrible the characters’ predicament is. As the story unfolds as a series, you get the sense of what a nightmare this world is. Lennie Jones and Adrian Kali Turner play a father and son who take in Rick after first mistaking him for a zombie. Jones gets some of the best scenes in the episode as he deals with the ramifications of his deceased wife in the world chronicled in this series.

To say there is nothing on television like The Walking Dead is a hyperbole-free statement. For horror fans and fans of the comic book, this is faithful interpretation of the book. For fans of good drama, well, let’s hope you can see past the blood and guts for what is really at the core of the series.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on AMC.

Make-Up Tips... from the Set of 'The Walking Dead'

We're only four days away from Halloween... and the premiere of The Walking Dead on AMC.  If you're still undecided on your costume this year, check out this educational video by the special effects make-up artists on the new series.  Who knew transforming yourself into a flesh-eating zombie could be as easy as 1-2-3 (hours)?:

Image Reprints 'The Walking Dead' Weekly in January 2011

Image is gearing up with a new jumping on point for rabid fans of the new AMC series The Walking Dead, the only-days-away television adaptation of the long-running Robert Kirkman book.

Beginning in January 2011, Image begins reprinting the original series on a weekly basis starting with issue #1. The plan is to continue this schedule for the whole of the year, with a cover price of $2.99. While they've made no promises, I'll wager the book consistenly ships on time.

For readers familiar with the series, but who prefer to read it in trade (like myself), the hardcover Walking Dead Omnibus, Volume 3 is set to hit bookshelves on January 5th 2011. This edition collects issues #49 through #72 and is a whopping 560 pages of drama, self reflection, and flesh eating zombie fun. The cover price is $100 for the third Omnibus—so don’t go spending all those Amazon holiday gift cards on December 26th!

Take a 17-Minute Sneak Peek at The Walking Dead

We are just two weeks away from the October 31st premiere of The Walking Dead! This AMC series is the adaptation of the wonderfully stirring Robert Kirkman comic book of the same name. If you haven’t read the book, consider picking it up if you don’t mind spoiling the series—it looks to be pretty faithful adaptation of the long-running title. Since 2003 Kirkman has been telling the ongoing tale of a growing and shrinking and growing group of survivors, trying to make sense of a world infested by zombies.

Shawshank Redemption Director Frank Dabont brings his ability to tell a character-driven story blended with plenty of chills, which is what this series deserves. Take a look (or look away) at this 17-minute preview choc-full of interviews with Kirkman, Darabont and the cast of The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead

We’re about a month away from the premiere of AMC’s Walking Dead series (and Halloween—I need a costume) and everything about this it looks to ring true to Robert Kirkman’s long-running hit series. Television was the perfect medium to translate Kirkman’s story because it has always asked the question “What happens next?” After the credits roll on your average zombie movie, how does humanity cope? Survive? And most important, how do they change? I have been catching up on The Walking Dead in trades, which prefer over following in its issue-format, and I have been pulled in further with each engrossing arc. Based on the set photos, the trailer that premiered at this summer’s Comic-Con, and the recently released poster, this series is going to get it all right.

Here’s a clip of the goods: