The Walking Dead Is No Longer The Best Show In Its Own Franchise (It Isn't Even 2nd)

While the sheer number of spinoffs from the original AMC show make it somewhat understandable that The Walking Dead can no longer claim to be the best show in its own franchise, the fact that it isn’t even the second best is more unfortunate. When The Walking Dead debuted in 2010, the show did so in a profoundly different cultural environment than that of 2026. Admittedly, boundary-pushing shows like The Shield had, in the wake of The Wire and The Sopranos, pushed the norms of cable censorship.