Diving Into The Walking Dead

Photo: AMC

Debuting back in 2010, AMC’s The Walking Dead went from indie darling, to must-watch TV phenomenon, to undead media empire. The show started a trend that pushed prestige TV toward the horror genre, spawning not just spinoffs, but legions of series that capitalized on the discovery that modern viewers were craving thrills and chills. Its upcoming finale therefore begs an important question: where does horror TV go from here?

The two other series, video games, and upcoming movies based on The Walking Dead are likely to continue drawing the original show’s audience, but what else are these viewers streaming? The answer could help us predict the future of terrifying TV in the coming years. That’s why, ahead of The Walking Dead’s grand finale, Ranker Insights is taking a deep dive into its fanbase and guessing where they might go after the original series wraps.

New episodes of The Walking Dead premiere on Sundays on AMC.

Photo: AMC

The Walking Dead on Ranker

The Walking Dead is sitting pretty at the top of Ranker’s list of The All-Time Greatest TV Pilots (161K votes), beating out iconic series like Lost, Breaking Bad, and The X-Files. 

The Walking Dead is also currently ranked at #2 on The Best Apocalyptic And Post-Apocalyptic Fiction TV Shows (28K votes). The horror series also places at #2 on The Best AMC Shows list (5K votes), ranking higher than Better Call Saul, Mad Men, and Preacher, and holds the #2 spot on The Best Action-Adventure TV Shows (30K votes), drawing more votes than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The CW’s cult hit Supernatural. 

Elsewhere on Ranker, The Walking Dead sits at #5 on The Best Drama TV Shows Airing Now (24K votes), higher than both Netflix’s Ozark and Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and ranks #2 on The Scariest Shows On TV Right Now (7K votes).

Who’s Watching The Walking Dead?

It’s safe to say that fans of The Walking Dead are eager to check out the show’s expanded universe, but fans aren’t just limited to watching heroes take on the undead masses. The Walking Dead-heads are on board with other frightening fare, as well as shows also based on comics. Using the data found within Ranker Insights, we can get to the nitty-gritty of The Walking Dead fanbase and find out exactly who is watching what.

WALKING DEAD HEADS

Surprise! Fans of The Walking Dead love The Walking Dead, and they want more stories set within this universe. People who watch TWD are 9X more likely than the average TV fan to check out its prequel Fear the Walking Dead, as well as 4X more likely to watch its sequel series, The Walking Dead: World Beyond. 

These viewers love The Walking Dead and… Fear the Walking Dead,The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Talking Dead,

HORROR HOUNDS

In addition to exploring The Walking Dead universe, fans of the show are also attracted to other horror properties. Hoping to feed their need for a bloody good time, audiences of TWD are 5X more likely to also watch FX’s American Horror Story, the long-running, over-the-top horror anthology. Fans are also 5X more likely than the average Ranker voter to watch Showtime’s Dexter, the dark drama series that centers on a serial killer as the protagonist. 

These viewers love The Walking Dead and…American Horror Story, Dexter, The Strain

COMIC BOOK AFICIONADOS

Fans of The Walking Dead love other series that originated from comic books. Stories that made it from the printed page to the small screen easily nab the attention of TWD viewers. This includes Amazon Prime’s The Boys — Walker watchers are 3X more likely to check out this dark comedy about superheroes gone awry. Audiences are also 4X more likely to be drawn to HBO Max’s Doom Patrol, a “mature audiences only” take on DC’s misfit superhero outfit. And finally, fans of The Walking Dead are 5X more likely to watch Netflix’s The Punisher, the violent and graphic series that reinvented the classic character of Frank Castle. 

These viewers love The Walking Dead and…The Boys, Doom Patrol, The Punisher

These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.

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