The Walking Dead has been a whirlwind success for AMC, and its continued high ratings are
proof that the recent zombie pop culture craze is more than a fad.
But the show has not been without its fair share of issues, both on-screen and off.
Here's the behind-the-scenes history of The Walking Dead you might not know.
Beam me up, Robby
When comic book writer Robert Kirkman first came up with his concept for The Walking Dead,
he didn't want his idea to fester in some pile of generic zombie pitches, so he added
a little something extra to the mix: aliens.
Yes, aliens.
Kirkman revealed that when he first approached publisher Image Comics about his story ideas,
they thought his story needed an extra hook, so he threw in an otherworldly element, suggesting
that his zombies could have been sent to Earth by aliens.
Kirkman never intended to follow through with that plot track, but it got him the green
light.
Ultimately, Kirkman did circle back on the alien theme in Issue #75, which featured a
bonus ending that had some fun with that original concept.
Artist bites back
Tony Moore, whose artwork appeared in many early issues of Kirkman's comic series, filed
suit against the author — his childhood friend — after he felt duped into signing
over his financial rights to the franchise.
He claimed he was owed a significant slice of the brainy pie once the series hit it big.
Kirkman disagreed and filed a counter-suit against Moore, alleging he'd breached their
confidentiality agreement with his filing.
The two amicably settled their dispute in 2012, and Moore returned to draw a variant
cover for The Walking Dead Issue #150, paying tribute to his cover of issue #1, which debuted
back in 2003.
An intro to remember
A lot of things have changed over the years on The Walking Dead, but one thing that's
remained the same is that spooky intro music that lulls us into some undead submission
every episode.
(spooky intro music playing)
Composer Bear McCreary designed the iconic score, and yes, he intended for it to be just
that dreary.
(live spooky intro music playing)
In a 2010 interview with MTV News, he explained that he wanted to capture a sense of "emptiness"
with the stringed notes of his opening number, as it was the feeling he got from watching
it.
He said, "I wanted to create something that would get stuck in your head, so that when
you hear it, you would think of The Walking Dead."
Mission accomplished.
Showrunner switcheroo
Frank Darabont was The Walking Dead's first showrunner, and his fingerprints are still
all over the place.
Not only did he recruit the original cast, some of whom he'd worked with before, but
he built the world foundation upon which the show still stands with Robert Kirkman.
So it was a complete shock to him and everyone else when the network decided to give him
the boot in Season 2.
Darabont pursued legal action against AMC, accusing the network of creating "crisis-level
problems" by slashing the show's budget in spite of ratings success and accused executives
of essentially inventing reasons to fire him.
As of the making of this video, Darabont is seeking more than $280 million in damages.
Jeffrey DeMunn, who'd starred in a ton of Darabont's movies, including Shawshank Redemption,
The Green Mile, and The Mist, loyally followed Darabont through the exit sign soon after
his untimely departure.
Pre-Daryl Dixon
Norman Reedus' crossbow-wielding hero Daryl Dixon has emerged as one of the show's fan-favorite
characters, but Reedus originally auditioned for the part of Merle, which had already gone
to Michael Rooker.
Showrunners liked Reedus so much, though, they created the part of Daryl specifically
for him.
Talk about a happy accident.
The jail scene
The prison setting might have been fictional, but some of The Walking Dead's cast members
have found themselves behind bars in real-life for their...extracurricular activities.
In 2012, actor Scott Wilson, who played old man Herschel in the show, was arrested for
drunk driving.
Then in 2015, Seth Gilliam, who plays the good Reverend Gabriel, was also arrested for
DUI and possession of marijuana.
Sheriff Rick must have been off duty those nights.
Thanks, Carol
Steven Yeun was born in Seoul, South Korea, so his parents have something of a language
barrier when it comes to fully understanding what's happening on the show.
Apparently, in a moment of confusion, they told him to make sure and thank co-star Melissa
McBride for that time Carol saved everyone from the cannibals.
Even after Yeun tried to explain that everything happening on the show is fictional, his father
insisted he thank her, so he did.
Hero dog
Dooley, the dog who played Daryl and Beth's one-eyed canine companion in Season 4, was
a real-life hero.
He lost his right eye while defending his owner from a carjacker.
Bravest cast-member ever?
Yup!
Zombie makeup levels
With so many zombified extras at play in any given episode, the makeup department has had
to be choosy as to which members of its crowd get the full work-up, so execs devised three
levels of zombies.
The highest is hero, which gets the full body makeover … like this guy.
"Make sure we slime the back of his head and shoulders really well."
Then there's midground, which warrants some facial transformation and costuming.
And when there's a horde of zombies on-screen, many of the undead extras further away from
the camera just wear a zombie mask and some ragged clothing.
No matter the level, though, every extra has to go to zombie school before filming to learn
how to move like a true biter.
(groaning)
"What is that?"
"What about yours?"
"Ay?"
"Who died and made you f***ing king of the zombies?"
"What?
Oh"
(groaning)
"Yeah, that's pretty good."
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