The Walking Dead (season 1)

The first season of AMC's television series The Walking Dead premiered on October 31, 2010, and concluded on December 5, 2010, consisting of six episodes. The series is based on the series of graphic novels of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard. It was developed for television by Frank Darabont, who wrote or co-wrote four of the season's six episodes and directed the pilot.

Darabont, Kirkman, David Alpert, Charles H. Eglee, and Gale Anne Hurd were executive producers, while Darabont served as showrunner.

The season follows former sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from his coma into a post-apocalyptic world filled with flesh-eating zombies, dubbed as "walkers". Rick goes on a search to find his family and to discover the origins of the walker virus.

The first season was met with positive reviews from critics and gained 5.35 million viewers on its premiere. The finale garnered six million viewers and among adults ages 18–49, making it the most viewed basic cable drama series of all time.

Based on its reception, AMC renewed the series for a second season consisting of 13 episodes, which premiered on October 16, 2011.