These days, mention of The Walking Dead is usually followed by an eye roll. Then a groan. And then the words: “That show got so, so bad!” This happens a lot with initially adored shows. Lost, Homeland and ER were all wholeheartedly embraced in their early seasons, before being met with lazy criticisms as they went on: “They were making it up as they went along!”; “It peaked with the first season!”; “It’s not been good for years!” But not only are these complaints unimaginative, they’re also incorrect.
What is true is that The Walking Dead started out as a moderately sized graphic novel adaptation and coalesced into a franchise as huge as the horde of zombies its characters repeatedly tried to outrun. It followed Mad Men and Breaking Bad as a firm, if unlikely, critical darling for AMC. It enjoyed this feat for six seasons, by which point, it was the most-viewed show in the US. Then season seven arrived.
