Development is also an executive producer and writer of the television series. On January 20, 2010,
AMC officially announced that it had ordered a pilot for a possible series adapted from
The Walking Dead comic book series, with
Frank Darabont and
Gale Anne Hurd acting as executive producers and Darabont writing and directing. The entire series was pre-ordered based just on the strength of the source material, the television scripts, and Darabont's involvement. In January 2010 a review of the pilot episode's script attracted further attention. The pilot began filming in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 15, 2010, after AMC had officially ordered a six-episode first season. The series's remaining episodes began filming on June 2, 2010, with Darabont serving as
showrunner. On August 31, 2010, Darabont reported that
The Walking Dead had been picked up for a second season, with production to begin in February 2011. On November 8, 2010, AMC confirmed that there would be a second season consisting of 13 episodes. He would also like to include some of the "environmental elements" that take place during Volume 2 of Kirkman's book.
Crew The first season writing staff consisted of series developer and executive producer Frank Darabont (who wrote/co-wrote four of the six episodes), executive producer
Charles H. Eglee, executive producer and creator of the comic book Robert Kirkman, co-executive producer
Jack LoGiudice, consulting producer
Adam Fierro and
Glen Mazzara, all of whom contributed to one episode each. Along with Darabont, who directed the pilot episode, the remaining five were directed by
Michelle MacLaren,
Gwyneth Horder-Payton,
Johan Renck,
Ernest Dickerson, and
Guy Ferland, respectively. On December 1, 2010,
Deadline Hollywood reported that Darabont had fired his writing staff, including executive producer
Charles "Chic" Eglee, and planned to use freelance writers for the second season. Kirkman called the announcement "premature" and clarified that Eglee left to pursue other projects when Darabont decided to stay on as showrunner, and no definitive plans had been made regarding the writing staff for the second season. On December 3, 2010, in an interview with
Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd commented: "It's completely inaccurate. [In] the writers' room, there are people that have set up other projects that will be their first priority if their own series is picked up as a pilot or if it's a series. I think [Eglee] just decided that he wants to run his own show." She revealed that it would be likely for the series to return in October 2011, as Darabont and Kirkman planned on mapping out the next season early in 2011. She also confirmed that, "every one of the principal cast is signed up for multiple seasons." In July 2011, series developer and showrunner Frank Darabont was fired from his position as showrunner for the series, over unethical business practices from AMC higher-ups (see
Lawsuits below). Executive producer Glen Mazzara was appointed the new showrunner in Darabont's place. New writers joined the writing staff in the second season, including co-executive producer
Evan Reilly, producer Scott M. Gimple, story editor
Angela Kang, and
David Leslie Johnson. New writers in the third season included producers Nichole Beattie and Sang Kyu Kim, with
Frank Renzulli contributing a freelance script. After the conclusion of the third season, Glen Mazzara stepped down from his position as showrunner and executive producer for the series, per a mutual agreement between Mazzara and AMC. The press release read, "Both parties acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion about where the show should go moving forward, and conclude that it is best to part ways." Scott M. Gimple succeeded Mazzara as showrunner for the fourth season, with new writers joining the writing staff, such as Curtis Gwinn, Channing Powell, and Matt Negrete. In January 2018, it was announced that Gimple would be promoted to the newly created position of Chief Content Officer of the entire
Walking Dead franchise, and that Angela Kang would replace him as showrunner beginning with the ninth season.
Writing The television series generally tends to follow Kirkman's comic series across major characters and plots; for instance, events of the premiere episode of the seventh season correlate to events in issue #100 of the comics. The series does not attempt to go step-by-step with the comics, and has leeway in the narrative. In particular, the series's writers, along with Kirkman, often "transfer" how a character has died in the comics to a different character in the series. For example, in the fourth season, where
Hershel Greene is beheaded by
the Governor in the standoff with Rick's group at the prison; in the comic,
Tyreese is the one who suffers this fate.
Casting The Walking Dead has featured a large rotating ensemble cast. In most cases, because of the nature of the show, departure of actors from the show are determined by the writing, with characters either killed off or written off the show as necessary to develop the story. Cast members are generally told ahead of time if they have been written off the show, but otherwise kept to secrecy. For example,
Steven Yeun, who played
Glenn Rhee since the pilot through the season seven premiere, knew of his character's death for a year but had to keep quiet, while
Chandler Riggs, playing
Carl Grimes through the eighth season, was told of his character's departure during the filming in the weeks leading into his final episodes. A few actors have left the show under their own terms due to other commitments or changes, with the writings adopting the plot around these changes: •
Andrew Lincoln played the series's protagonist Rick Grimes since the pilot. Lincoln announced his plan to leave the show at the start of the ninth season, finding that having to spend half a year in the United States for filming left him missing out on his family in the United Kingdom. Lincoln completed five episodes in the season to close out Rick's storyline within the series, and was originally planned to be continued in three films. In July 2022, it was announced that Lincoln, along with Gurira, will star in a six-episode miniseries in the place of the three films. •
Lauren Cohan played
Maggie Greene since the second season. As contract negotiations began for the ninth season, Cohan had been given the opportunity to star in
Whiskey Cavalier, limiting how much time she would be able to give to the show. Cohan appeared as Maggie for the first five episodes of the season. In October 2019, it was confirmed that Cohan would return as a series regular for the eleventh season. •
Danai Gurira played
Michonne since the third season, and announced that she would be leaving the show after the tenth season, participating in a handful of episodes balanced against her other acting commitments. • Both
Lennie James (as
Morgan Jones) and
Austin Amelio (as
Dwight) were transferred from the main series after season eight to the spinoff series
Fear the Walking Dead. James joined the cast of
Fear the Walking Dead in season four and Amelio joined the cast in season five. Casting salaries for the principal actors have grown significantly over the course of the show, up through the seventh season. Overall, the salaries had been lower compared to other similar dramas, including AMC's own
Mad Men, but this was justified due to the volatility of any character being potentially written off the show.
Norman Reedus and
Melissa McBride, playing
Daryl Dixon and
Carol Peletier respectively, had made around per episode during the first season, and by the seventh season, had gotten up to per episode. Lincoln himself was only earning per episode in the seventh season. By season nine, with the departure of Lincoln, Reedus had repeated secured a per episode pay plus additional incentives, potentially earning him over three seasons. McBride similarly had gotten an extended contract in season nine worth over three seasons. Both of these were intended to secure the pair as central figures for the show going forward in Lincoln's absence.
Music composes
The Walking Dead score
Bear McCreary was hired to compose the score for the series. McCreary stated that the main theme was based on his viewing of production designs for the opening title sequence. Instead of doing a full theme song as with his earlier works, McCreary chose to use a simple, repeating
motif from the strings section. The second volume was released on March 25, 2014.
Songs of Survival is a soundtrack for the third season and it was released on August 27, 2013, by
Republic Records as a
Walmart exclusive for the special edition release of the third season.
Songs of Survival, Vol. 2 is a soundtrack for the fourth season and it was released on August 26, 2014, by Republic Records as a Walmart exclusive of the fourth season release.
Makeup Greg Nicotero is an executive producer and the key
special effects
makeup artist on the series. Each walker is put through "zombie school" and is taught how to move like a zombie. There are three levels of zombie makeup: Hero, Midground, and Deep Background. Hero zombies are featured walkers and are completely made over from head to toe. Midground zombies get highlights and shadows on the face, but do not get close enough to the camera to require full makeup. Deep background zombies often wear masks and are only meant to be used as a backdrop.
Filming was used as the setting for
Woodbury during the
third season The Walking Dead is predominantly filmed in Georgia. Since 2002, the state has offered
a tax incentive for large film productions to drive producers to the state and bolster its economy. Production for subsequent seasons moved mainly to Riverwood Studios (doing business as Raleigh Studios Atlanta), a plot of land covering approximately , located outside of
Senoia, Georgia. Some existing buildings were used here, such as a subdivision that is used by several families, which serves as the Alexandria Safe-Zone. Other buildings are constructed as sets, such as the exterior shots of the main Hilltop mansion, the trash heaps used by the Scavengers, or Father Gabriel's church. Sets are torn down when no longer needed; the church, after its use in the fifth season, was removed and its spot used for the iconic setting for the first meeting between Rick's group and Negan in the seventh season. The property includes sound stages constructed for interior shots, which then may be reused; the interior sets for the prison during the third season were reused to serve as the buildings and sets for the Savior's Sanctuary in the seventh season. In July 2017, AMC purchased the studio lot from Riverwood for $8.25 million. Some scenes are shot outside of the studio. Woodbury, during the third season, was filmed in downtown Senoia. Other exceptions include the Kingdom, which is filmed at the former military base
Fort McPherson, now converted to studios for
Tyler Perry.
David Tattersall was the director of photography for the pilot episode with
David Boyd as the director of photography on the remainder of the episodes. Production design is done by Greg Melton and Alex Hajdu. The effects team includes veteran special effects makeup designers
Greg Nicotero and Toby Sells, special effects coordinator
Darrell Pritchett, and visual effects supervisors Sam Nicholson and Jason Sperling. Greg Nicotero also served as the primary director for the series, directing 35 episodes up until 2021.
Marketing The Walking Dead debuted during the same week in 120 countries. As part of an expansive campaign to advertise and heighten anticipation for the premiere, AMC and Fox International Channels coordinated a worldwide zombie invasion event on October 26, 2010. The stunt involved invading 26 major cities within a 24-hour period, starting with
Taipei and Hong Kong, and ending in Los Angeles for the American premiere. The series's official website released, just prior to
San Diego Comic-Con in 2010, a motion comic based on Issue No. 1 of the original comic and voiced by
Phil LaMarr. The site also posted a making-of documentary primarily about the first episode, as well as a number of other behind-the-scenes videos and interviews. In the documentary, comic series creator and television series executive producer Robert Kirkman, as well as artist
Charlie Adlard, say they are pleased with how faithful the series is to the comic and remark on the similarities between the actors and the comic's original character drawings. Action figures of characters from the series were created for release in November 2011 and have continued throughout the years with eight line-ups. The figures, which are manufactured by
McFarlane Toys, are designed to resemble the actors on the series. Figures created to resemble the characters as drawn in the comic book were released in September 2011. In December 2020, it was announced by AMC that
Chris Hardwick would host a special for the show featuring the appearances of various cast members, titled
The Walking Dead Holiday Special, to promote the show and "reminisce on the franchise series' past". The special was released on December 13, 2020.
Green initiatives With a primary objective of
reducing the environmental impacts of film and television productions, including
The Walking Dead, producer Gale Anne Hurd has directed the cast, crew, production team, suppliers, and bloggers about her series to adopt the Doddle app to make the production almost paper-free; this works by digitally transmitting interactive
call sheets and other intra-team and team-supplier communications (such as directions, images, menus, and updates) to people's cell phones and
tablets. Hurd said of using Doddle: in addition to conserving paper, "It's also easier, and it's better for security. People are less likely to leave their smartphone or tablet lying around for someone else to pick up." Hurd describes additional steps taken to increase efficiency and cut production costs: "If you use vehicles that get better gas mileage, that are electric or hybrids, you're going to pay a lot less in fuel. If you use compact fluorescent bulbs, you're going to save a lot of money in utilities. If you recycle even your own sets, and use them again, that's going to save money. You don't have to buy new lumber. So there are cost savings, absolutely." Hurd also cuts down on plastic waste by personally using a refillable, stainless steel EcoUsable water bottle and promoting its use among her colleagues. She shared: "on a lot of my projects I give them as crew gifts before we start production, and have water stations available, but you can't force people to use them." ==Release==