The Walking Dead: All 11 seasons ranked from worst to best

2. Season 1

Oh take me back to start. The Walking Dead‘s first season seems like a completely different show looking back on it now, and it’s insane to think about how far it has come in its 11 seasons. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t say that the AMC show got it so right with its maiden voyage that it rarely ever rose to these heights again.

Not only did it introduce us to the post-apocalyptic world that would become the backdrop for the whole series, it effectively made Rick Grimes one of the most gripping protagonists on television in a very small space of time. It felt like a low-budget indie western, and we mean that in the best kind of way. We saw the dangers of this new world unfold through Rick’s eyes, and we didn’t need big, excessive explosions or over-the-top villains to drive home the gravity of the situation. We just needed the environment and the small group of survivors around him – many of whom would go on to become TWD’s most important characters.

The antithesis of most of the later seasons, this concise, compelling, and character-driven first season is The Walking Dead at its very best.