The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series developed by Frank Darabont for AMC that is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. Andrew Lincoln plays the show's lead character, sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma discovering a world overrun by zombies, commonly referred to as "walkers". Grimes reunites with his family and becomes the leader of a group he forms with other survivors. Together they struggle to survive and adapt in a post-apocalyptic world filled with walkers and opposing groups of survivors, who are often more dangerous than the walkers themselves. Much of the series takes place in and around Atlanta, Georgia, and later Alexandria, Virginia.
The series premiered in the United States on October 31, 2010, exclusively shown on cable television channel AMC and internationally on Fox International Channels. As a result of very favorable Nielsen ratings that rank the show unprecedentedly high for a cable series, AMC has renewed the series each year. Beginning with its third season, The Walking Dead has attracted the most 18 to 49-year-old viewers of any cable or broadcast television series. The series has been renewed for a ninth season which will debut on October 7, 2018. An AMC spin-off series, Fear the Walking Dead, debuted on August 23, 2015.