document_title: Economy of the Soviet Union

question_text: what type of economic system was utilized in the soviet union

text: Economy of the Soviet Union

text: Planning[edit]

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text: Based on a system of state ownership, the Soviet economy was managed through Gosplan (the State Planning Commission), Gosbank (the State Bank) and the Gossnab (State Commission for Materials and Equipment Supply). Beginning in 1928, the economy was directed by a series of five-year plans, with a brief attempt at seven-year planning. For every enterprise, planning ministries (also known as the "fund holders" or fondoderzhateli) defined the mix of economic inputs (e.g., labor and raw materials), a schedule for completion, all wholesale prices and almost all retail prices. The planning process was based around material balances—balancing economic inputs with planned output targets for the planning period. From 1930 until the late 1950s, the range of mathematics used to assist economic decision-making was, for ideological reasons, extremely restricted.[26]

text: Industry was long concentrated after 1928 on the production of capital goods through metallurgy, machine manufacture, and chemical industry. In Soviet terminology, goods were known as capital. This emphasis was based on the perceived necessity for a very fast industrialization and modernization of the Soviet Union. After the death of Stalin in 1953, consumer goods (group B goods) received somewhat more emphasis due to efforts of Malenkov. However, when Khrushchev consolidated his power by sacking Malenkov, one of the accusations against Malenkov was that he permitted "theoretically incorrect and politically harmful opposition to the rate of development of heavy industry in favor of the rate of development of light and food industry".[27] Therefore, since 1955 the priorities again were given to capital goods, which was expressed in the decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU (1956).[28] For further details see consumer goods in the Soviet Union.

text: Most information in the Soviet economy flowed from the top down. There were several mechanisms in place for producers and consumers to provide input and information that would help in the drafting of economic plans (as detailed below), but the political climate was such that few people ever provided negative input or criticism of the plan. Thus, Soviet planners had very little reliable feedback that they could use to determine the success of their plans. This meant that economic planning was often done based on faulty or outdated information, particularly in sectors with large numbers of consumers. As a result, some goods tended to be underproduced, leading to shortages, while other goods were overproduced and accumulated in storage. Low-level managers often did not report such problems to their superiors, relying instead on each other for support. Some factories developed a system of barter and either exchanged or shared raw materials and parts without the knowledge of the authorities and outside the parameters of the economic plan.

text: Heavy industry was always the focus of the Soviet economy, even in its later years. The fact that it received special attention from the planners, combined with the fact that industrial production was relatively easy to plan even without minute feedback, led to significant growth in that sector. The Soviet Union became one of the leading industrial nations of the world. Industrial production was disproportionately high in the Soviet Union compared to Western economies. However, the production of consumer goods was disproportionately low. Economic planners made little effort to determine the wishes of household consumers, resulting in severe shortages of many consumer goods. Whenever these consumer goods would become available on the market, consumers routinely had to stand in long lines (queues) to buy them.[citation needed] A black market developed for goods, such as cigarettes, that were particularly sought after but constantly underproduced.

text: Drafting the five-year plans[edit]

text: Under Stalin's tutelage, a complex system of planning arrangements had developed since the introduction of the first five-year plan in 1928. Until the late-1980s and early-1990s, when economic reforms backed by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced significant changes in the traditional system (see Perestroika), the allocation of resources was directed by a planning apparatus rather than through the interplay of market forces.

text: Time frame[edit]

text: From the Joseph Stalin era through the late 1980s, the five-year plan integrated short-range planning into a longer time frame. It delineated the chief thrust of the country's economic development and specified the way the economy could meet the desired goals of the Communist Party. Although the five-year plan was enacted into law, it contained a series of guidelines rather than a set of direct orders.

text: Periods covered by the five-year plans coincided with those covered by the gatherings of the CPSU Party Congress. At each CPSU Congress, the party leadership presented the targets for the next five-year plan. Thus, each plan had the approval of the most authoritative body of the country's leading political institution.

text: Guidelines for the plan[edit]

text: The Central Committee of the CPSU and, more specifically, its Politburo, set basic guidelines for planning. The Politburo determined the general direction of the economy via control figures (preliminary plan targets), major investment projects (capacity creation), and general economic policies. These guidelines were submitted as a report of the Central Committee to the Congress of the CPSU to be approved there.

text: After the approval at the congress, the list of priorities for the five-year plan was processed by the Council of Ministers, which constituted the government of the USSR. The Council of Ministers was composed of industrial ministers, chairmen of various state committees, and chairmen of agencies with ministerial status. This committee stood at the apex of the vast economic administration, including the state planning apparatus, the industrial ministries, the trusts (the intermediate level between the ministries and the enterprises), and finally, the state enterprises. The Council of Ministers elaborated on Politburo plan targets and sent them to Gosplan, which gathered data on plan fulfillment.

text: Gosplan[edit]

text: Combining the broad goals laid out by the Council of Ministers with data supplied by lower administrative levels regarding the current state of the economy, Gosplan worked out, through trial and error, a set of preliminary plan targets. Among more than twenty state committees, Gosplan headed the government's planning apparatus and was by far the most important agency in the economic administration. The task of planners was to balance resources and requirements to ensure that the necessary inputs were provided for the planned output. The planning apparatus alone was a vast organizational arrangement consisting of councils, commissions, governmental officials, specialists, etc. charged with executing and monitoring economic policy.

text: The state planning agency was subdivided into its own industrial departments, such as coal, iron, and machine building. It also had summary departments such as finance, dealing with issues that crossed functional boundaries. With the exception of a brief experiment with regional planning during the Khrushchev era in the 1950s, Soviet planning was done on a sectoral basis rather than on a regional basis. The departments of the state planning agency aided the agency's development of a full set of plan targets along with input requirements, a process involving bargaining between the ministries and their superiors.

text: Planning ministries[edit]

text: Economic ministries performed key roles in the Soviet organizational structure. When the planning goals had been established by Gosplan, economic ministries drafted plans within their jurisdictions and disseminated planning data to the subordinate enterprises. The planning data were sent downward through the planning hierarchy for progressively more detailed elaboration. The ministry received its control targets, which were then disaggregated by branches within the ministry, then by lower units, eventually until each enterprise received its own control figures (production targets).

text: Enterprises[edit]

text: Enterprises were called upon to develop in the final period of state planning in the late-1980s and early-1990s (even though such participation was mostly limited to a rubber-stamping of prepared statements during huge pre-staged meetings). The enterprises' draft plans were then sent back up through the planning ministries for review. This process entailed intensive bargaining, with all parties seeking the target levels and input figures that best suited their interests.

text: Redrafting the plan[edit]

text: After this bargaining process, Gosplan received the revised estimates and re-aggregated them as it saw fit. Then, the redrafted plan was sent to the Council of Ministers and the Party's Politburo and Central Committee Secretariat for approval. The Council of Ministers submitted the Plan to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and the Central Committee submitted the plan to the Party Congress, both for rubber stamp approval. By this time, the process had been completed and the plan became law.

text: Approval of the plan[edit]

text: The review, revision, and approval of the five-year plan were followed by another downward flow of information, this time with the amended and final plans containing the specific targets for each sector of the economy. Implementation began at this point, and was largely the responsibility of enterprise managers.

text: State budget[edit]

text: The national state budget was prepared by the Ministry of Finance of the USSR by negotiating with its all-Union local organizations. If the state budget was accepted by the Soviet Union, it was then adopted.[29]

text: Agriculture[edit]

text: Agriculture was organized into a system of collective farms (kolkhozes) and state farms (sovkhozes). Organized on a large scale and highly mechanized, the Soviet Union was one of the world's leading producers of cereals, although bad harvests (as in 1972 and 1975) necessitated imports and slowed the economy. The 1976-1980 five-year plan shifted resources to agriculture, and 1978 saw a record harvest followed by another drop in overall production in 1979 and 1980 back to levels attained in 1975. Cotton, sugar beets, potatoes, and flax were also major crops.

text: However, despite immense land resources, extensive machinery and chemical industries, and a large rural work force, Soviet agriculture was relatively unproductive,[original research?] hampered in many areas by the climate (only 10 percent of the Soviet Union's land was arable), and poor worker productivity since the collectivization in the 1930s.[citation needed] Lack of transport infrastructure also caused much waste.

text: A view of poor performance of Soviet collective farms is provided by two historians, M. Heller and A. Nekrich ("Utopia in Power, History of the Soviet Union from 1917 to Present," Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1986). The authors report that in 1979, 28% of the Soviet agricultural production was from small plots of private citizens, which represented less than 1% of the cultivated land. So according to them, collective farms operated very inefficiently.

text: Foreign trade and currency[edit]

text: Largely self-sufficient, the Soviet Union traded little in comparison to its economic strength. However, trade with noncommunist countries increased in the 1970s as the government sought to compensate gaps in domestic production with imports.

text: In general, fuels, metals, and timber were exported. Machinery, consumer goods, and sometimes grain were imported. In the 1980s trade with the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) member states accounted for about half the country's volume of trade.

text: The Soviet currency (ruble) was non-convertible after 1932 (when trade in gold-convertible "chervonets", introduced by Lenin in NEP years, was suspended) until the late eighties. It was impossible (both for citizens and state-owned businesses) to freely buy or sell foreign currency even though the "exchange rate" was set and published regularly. Buying or selling foreign currency on a black market was a serious crime until the late eighties. Individuals who were paid from abroad (for example writers whose books were published abroad) normally had to spend their currency in a foreign-currency-only chain of state-owned "Beryozka" ("Birch-tree") stores. Once a free conversion of currency was allowed, the exchange rate plummeted from its official values by almost a factor of 10.

text: Overall, the banking system was highly centralized and fully controlled by a single state-owned Gosbank, responsive to the fulfillment of the government's economic plans. Soviet banks furnished short-term credit to state-owned enterprises.

text: Forms of property[edit]

text: There were two basic forms of property in the Soviet Union: individual property and collective property. These differed greatly in their content and legal status. According to communist theory, capital (means of production) should not be individually owned, with certain negligible exceptions. In particular, after the end of a short period of the New Economic Policy and with collectivization completed, all industrial property and virtually all land were collective.

text: Land in rural areas was allotted for housing and some sustenance farming, and persons had certain rights to it, but it was not their property in full. In particular, in kolkhozes and sovkhozes there was a practice to rotate individual farming lots with collective lots. This resulted in situations where people would ameliorate, till and cultivate their lots carefully, adapting them to small-scale farming, and in 5–7 years those lots would be swapped for kolkhoz ones, typically with exhausted soil due to intensive, large-scale agriculture. There was an extremely small number of remaining individual farmsteads (khutors хутор), located in isolated rural areas in the Baltic states, Ukraine, Siberia and cossack lands.

text: Individual property[edit]

text: To distinguish "capitalist" and "socialist" types of property ownership further, two different forms of individual property were recognized: private property (частная собственность, chastnaya sobstvennost) and personal property (личная собственность, lichnaya sobstvennost). The former encompassed capital (means of production), while the latter described everything else in a person's possession. This distinction has been a source of confusion when interpreting phrases such as "socialism (communism) abolished private property"; one might conclude that all individual property was abolished, when this was in fact not the case.

text: Collective property[edit]

text: There were several forms of collective ownership, the most significant being state property, kolkhoz property, and cooperative property. The most common forms of cooperative property were housing cooperatives (жилищные кооперативы) in urban areas, consumer cooperatives (потребительская кооперация, потребкооперация), and rural consumer societies (сельские потребительские общества, сельпо).

text: History[edit]

text: Early development[edit]

text: Both the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and later, the Soviet Union, were countries in the process of industrialization. For both, this development occurred slowly and from a low initial starting-point. Because of World War I (1914-1918), the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing Russian Civil War (1917-1922), industrial production had only managed to barely recover its 1913 level by 1926.[30] By this time about 18% of the population lived in non-rural areas, although only about 7.5% were employed in the non-agricultural sector. The remainder remained stuck in low-productivity agriculture.[31]

text: David A. Dyker sees the Soviet Union of ca. 1930 as in some ways a typical developing country, characterized by low capital-investment and with most of its population resident in the countryside. Part of the reason[citation needed] for low investment-rates lay in the inability to acquire capital from abroad. This in turn, resulted from the repudiation of the debts of the Russian Empire by the Bolsheviks in 1918,[32] as well as from the worldwide financial troubles. Consequently, any kind of economic growth had to be financed by domestic savings.[31]

text: The economic problems in agriculture were further exacerbated by natural conditions, such as long cold winters across the country, droughts in the south and acidic soils in the north. However, according to Dyker, the Soviet economy did have "extremely good" potential in the area of raw materials and mineral extraction, for example in the oil fields in Transcaucasia, and this, along with a small but growing manufacturing base, helped the USSR avoid any kind of balance of payments problems.[31]

text: New Economic Policy (1921–1929)[edit]

text: By early 1921 it became apparent to the Bolsheviks that forced requisitioning of grain had resulted in low agricultural production and widespread opposition. As a result, the decision was made by Lenin and the Politburo to try an alternative approach.[33] The so-called New Economic Policy (NEP) was approved at the 10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)[34]

text: Everything except "the commanding heights", as Lenin put it, of the economy would be privatized. "The commanding heights" included foreign trade, heavy industry, communication and transport among others.[33] In practice this limited the private sector to artisan and agricultural production/trade.[35] The NEP encountered strong resistance within the Bolshevik party. Lenin had to persuade communist skeptics that "state capitalism" was a necessary step in achieving communism, while he himself harbored suspicions that the policy could be abused by private businessmen ("NEPmen").[36]

text: As novelist Andrei Platonov, among others, noted, the improvements were immediate. Rationing cards and queues, which had become hallmarks of war communism, had disappeared. However, due to prolonged war, low harvests, and several natural disasters the Soviet economy was still in trouble, particularly its agricultural sector. In 1921 widespread famine broke out in the Volga-Ural region. The Soviet government changed its previous course and allowed international relief to come in from abroad, and established a special committee chaired by prominent communists and non-communists alike. Despite this, an estimated five million people died in the famine.[37]

text: Stalinism[edit]

text: Starting in 1928, the five-year plans began building a heavy industrial base at once in an underdeveloped economy without waiting years for capital to accumulate through the expansion of light industry, and without reliance on external financing. The country now became industrialized at a hitherto unprecedented pace, surpassing Germany's pace of industrialization in the 19th century and Japan's earlier in the 20th century.

text: After the reconstruction of the economy (in the wake of the destruction caused by the Russian Civil War) was completed, and after the initial plans of further industrialisation were fulfilled, the explosive growth slowed down until the period of Brezhnev stagnation in the 1970s and 1980s.

text: Led by the creation of NAMI, and by the GAZ copy of the Ford Model A in 1929,[38][39][unreliable source] industrialization came with the extension of medical services, which improved labor productivity. Campaigns were carried out against typhus, cholera, and malaria; the number of physicians increased as rapidly as facilities and training would permit; and death and infant mortality rates steadily decreased.

text:
Evolution of GNP in comparison with European powers (in millions of dollars of 1960)[40][better source needed]

Country
1890
1900
1913
1925
1938

Russia/USSR
21 180
32 000
52 420
32 600
75 964

Germany
26 454
35 800
49 760
45 002
77 178

Great Britain
29 441
36 273
44 074
43 700
56 103

France
19 758
23 500
27 401
36 262
39 284

text: As weighed growth rates, economic planning performed very well during the early and mid-1930s, World War II-era mobilization, and for the first two decades of the postwar era. The Soviet Union became the world's leading producer of oil, coal, iron ore, and cement; manganese, gold, natural gas and other minerals were also of major importance. However, information about the Soviet famine of 1932–1933 was suppressed by the Soviet authorities until perestroika. In 1933 workers' real earnings sank to about one-tenth of the 1926 level.[42] Common and political prisoners in labor camps were forced to do unpaid labor, and communists and Komsomol members were frequently "mobilized" for various construction projects.

text: The German invasion of World War II inflicted punishing blows to the economy of the Soviet Union, with Soviet GDP falling 34% between 1940 and 1942.[43] Industrial output did not recover to its 1940 level for almost a decade.[20]

text: In 1961, a new redenominated Soviet ruble was issued. It maintained exchange parity with the Pound Sterling until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. After a new leadership, headed by Leonid Brezhnev, had come to power, attempts were made to revitalize the economy through economic reform. Starting in 1965, enterprises and organizations were made to rely on economic methods of profitable production, rather than follow orders from the state administration. By 1970, the Soviet economy had reached its zenith and was estimated at about 60 percent of the size of the USA[44] in terms of the estimated commodities (like steel and coal). In 1989, the official GDP of the Soviet Union was $2,500 Billion[45] while the GDP of the United States was $4,862 Billion[46] with per capita income figures as $8,700 and $19,800 respectively.

text: The value of all consumer goods manufactured in 1972 in retail prices was about 118 billion rubles ($530 billion).[48] The Era of Stagnation in the mid-1970s was triggered by the Nixon Shock and aggravated by the war in Afghanistan in 1979 and led to a period of economic standstill between 1979 and 1985. Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development kept the USSR's GDP at the same level during the first half of the 1980s.[citation needed] The Soviet planned economy was not structured to respond adequately to the demands of the complex modern economy it had helped to forge. The massive quantities of goods produced often did not meet the needs or tastes of consumers.[49] The volume of decisions facing planners in Moscow became overwhelming. The cumbersome procedures for bureaucratic administration foreclosed the free communication and flexible response required at the enterprise level for dealing with worker alienation, innovation, customers, and suppliers. During 1975–85, corruption and data fiddling became common practice among bureaucracy to report satisfied targets and quotas thus entrenching the crisis.

text: At the same time, the effects of the central planning were progressively distorted due to the rapid growth of the second economy in the Soviet Union.[25]

text: While all modernized economies were rapidly moving to computerization after 1965, the USSR fell further and further behind. Moscow's decision to copy the IBM 360 of 1965 proved a decisive mistake for it locked scientists into an antiquated system they were unable to improve. They had enormous difficulties in manufacturing the necessary chips reliably and in quantity, in programming workable and efficient programs, in coordinating entirely separate operations, and in providing support to computer users.[50][51][52]

text: One of the greatest strengths of Soviet economy was its vast supplies of oil and gas; world oil prices quadrupled in the 1973-74, and rose again in 1979-1981, making the energy sector the chief driver of the Soviet economy, and was used to cover multiple weaknesses. During this period, USSR had the lowest per-capita incomes among the other socialist countries.[53] At one point, Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin told the head of oil and gas production, "things are bad with bread. Give me 3 million tons [of oil] over the plan."[54] Former prime minister Yegor Gaidar, an economist looking back three decades, in 2007 wrote:

text: The hard currency from oil exports stopped the growing food supply crisis, increased the import of equipment and consumer goods, ensured a financial base for the arms race and the achievement of nuclear parity with the United States, and permitted the realization of such risky foreign-policy actions as the war in Afghanistan.[55]

text:
Comparison between USSR and US economies (1989)
according to 1990 CIA The World Factbook[11]

USSR
US

GDP(GNP)(1989 - millions $)
2,659,500
5,233,300

Population (July 1990)
290,938,469
250,410,000

GDP Per Capita(GNP)($)
9,211
21,082

Labor force (1989)
152,300,000
125,557,000

text: Awareness of the growing crisis arose initially within the KGB which with its extensive network of informants in every region and institution had its finger on the pulse of the nation. Yuri Andropov, director of the KGB, created a secret department during the 1970s within the KGB devoted to economic analysis, and when he succeeded Brezhnev in 1982 sounded the alarm forcefully to the Soviet leadership. Andropov's remedy of increased discipline, however, proved ineffective. It was only when Andropov's protege Gorbachev assumed power that a determined, but ultimately unsuccessful, assault on the economic crisis was undertaken.[56]

text: The value of all consumer goods manufactured in 1990 in retail prices was about 459 billion rubles ($2.1 trillion).[57] But, according to CIA estimates by 1989 the size of the Soviet economy was roughly half that in the United States of America.[11] According to the European Comparison Program, administered by the U.N, the size of the Soviet Economy was 36% of that in the United States in 1990.[58]

text:
Sector (Distribution of Soviet workforce)
1940
1965
1970
1979
1984

Primary (agriculture and forestry)
54%
31%
25%
21%
20%

Secondary (including construction, transport and communication)
28%
44%
46%
48%
47%

Tertiary (including trade, finance, health, education,
science and administration
18%
25%
29%
31%
33%

Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%


document_title: The Walking Dead (TV series)

question_text: where did they film season 8 of the walking dead

question_tokens: where did they film season 8 of the walking dead

root

text: The Walking Dead (TV series)

text: Series overview

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally aired

First aired
Last aired

1
6
October 31, 2010 (2010-10-31)
December 5, 2010 (2010-12-05)

2
13
October 16, 2011 (2011-10-16)
March 18, 2012 (2012-03-18)

3
16
October 14, 2012 (2012-10-14)
March 31, 2013 (2013-03-31)

4
16
October 13, 2013 (2013-10-13)
March 30, 2014 (2014-03-30)

5
16
October 12, 2014 (2014-10-12)
March 29, 2015 (2015-03-29)

6
16
October 11, 2015 (2015-10-11)
April 3, 2016 (2016-04-03)

7
16
October 23, 2016 (2016-10-23)
April 2, 2017 (2017-04-02)

8
16[20]
October 22, 2017 (2017-10-22)
TBA

tag: table

text: The Walking Dead takes place after the onset of a worldwide zombie apocalypse. The zombies, colloquially referred to as "walkers", shamble towards living humans and other creatures to eat them; they are attracted to noise, such as gunshots, and to different scents, e.g. humans. Humans that they bite or scratch become infected and slowly turn into walkers as well. It is revealed early in the series that all living humans carry this pathogen, so that if they die from any other cause, they will also turn into walkers. The only way to permanently kill a walker is to damage its brain or otherwise fully destroy the body, such as by cremating it.

tag: p

text: The series centers on sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who wakes up from a coma to discover this apocalypse. He becomes the leader of a group of survivors from the Atlanta, Georgia region as they attempt to sustain themselves and protect themselves not only against attacks by walkers but by other groups of survivors willing to assure their longevity by any means necessary.

text: Season 1 (2010)

text: Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes wakes from a coma discovering a world overrun by zombies. After befriending Morgan Jones, Rick travels alone to Atlanta to find his wife Lori, his son, Carl, and his police partner, Shane Walsh, encountering other survivors. The group travels to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), but find from the sole remaining CDC member that no cure exists for the epidemic.[21][22]

text: Season 2 (2011–12)

text: Traveling from Atlanta, Rick's group takes shelter at Hershel Greene's farm while they search for Carol's missing daughter, Sophia. Tensions between Rick's group and Hershel's family worsen after it is discovered that Hershel has kept friends and family turned into zombies, including Sophia, in his barn. Shane and Rick's friendship becomes increasingly unhinged when Lori reveals that she is pregnant, and Rick is forced to kill Shane in self-defense. Carl then shoots Shane in the head after he reanimates. The noise draws zombies, forcing Rick's group and Hershel's surviving family to evacuate the farm.[23]

text: Season 3 (2012–13)

text: Eight months after fleeing Hershel's farm, Rick's group finds a prison, which they clear of zombies to make their new home. Lori dies in childbirth, and Rick becomes withdrawn. Meanwhile, Andrea is rescued by Michonne and the two discover Woodbury, a fortified town led by a man known as the Governor. He learns of Rick's group at the prison, leading to conflict between them. Rick's group eventually raids and destroys Woodbury, but the Governor has Andrea ultimately killed and escapes. Woodbury's citizens live with Rick’s group at the prison.[24]

text: Season 4 (2013–14)

text: Several months after the Governor's attack, a deadly flu kills many of the population at the prison. The Governor finds his former right-hand men and kills them, taking over their group and destroys the prison. Rick's group are forced to separate and flee, but not before Hershel and the Governor are killed. The survivors divide, face their own trials and meet new faces before finding signs pointing to a safe haven called Terminus. One by one, they reunite at Terminus, but all the group are captured for some unknown purpose.[25]

text: Season 5 (2014–15)

text: Rick discovers the residents of Terminus engage in cannibalism, but the group manage to destroy Terminus and reunite. Some are injured and kidnapped to Grady, a hospital run by corrupt cops and doctors. When the remaining survivors regroup, they are approached by Aaron, inviting them to join a fortified community called Alexandria. They are initially welcomed, but Rick's group realize the residents have not faced the zombie threat directly. Morgan, who has been searching for Rick, arrives and is shocked to see Rick killing an Alexandrian, who has been abusing his wife, in anger.[26]

text: Season 6 (2015–16)

text: The residents of Alexandria put more trust in Rick's group to protect the town better. A group known as the Wolves use a zombie horde to attack Alexandria, and many lives are lost before the living regain control. While recovering, they learn of a community called the Hilltop, who offer to help trade supplies if they can end the threat of the extortionist Saviors led by a man named Negan. Although Rick's group decimate one Savior outpost, they are later caught by Negan, and forced to swear loyalty to him.

text: Season 7 (2016–17)

text: Negan murders Glenn and Abraham to coerce Rick's loyalty. Rick initially submits, but Michonne persuades him to fight back, and recruits a community called the Scavengers for help. Meanwhile, Rosita and Eugene make a bullet to kill Negan. When this fails, Negan forcibly recruits Eugene as a Savior. Separately, Carol and Morgan befriend Ezekiel of the Kingdom, another community, while Maggie and Rosita rally the Hilltop. Alexandria is attacked by the Saviors, aided by the turncoat Scavengers, but the Kingdom and Hilltop defend Alexandria. The three communities declare war on the Saviors.

text: Season 8 (2017–18)

text: Rick, Maggie, and Ezekiel rally their communities to flood the Sanctuary with walkers, trapping Negan. During the war, key Savior members grow suspicious of each other while the Hilltop and Kingdom are overwhelmed by the Saviors. Alexandria is attacked after Negan is freed. As Carl retreats the residents to the sewers, they are horrified to discover Carl has been bitten.[27]

text: Season 9

text: In January 2018, the series was renewed for a ninth season, which is planned to premiere in late 2018. It was announced that showrunner Scott Gimple would be promoted to Chief Content Officer for both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, while current writer and co-executive producer Angela Kang would take Gimple's role for The Walking Dead.[14]

text: Future seasons

text: Executive producer David Alpert said in 2014 that the original comics have given them enough ideas for Rick Grimes and company over the next seven years. "I happen to love working from source material, specifically because we have a pretty good idea of what Season 10 is gonna be", Alpert said. "We know where seasons 11 and 12 [will be]... we have benchmarks and milestones for those seasons if we're lucky enough to get there."[28]

text: Cast and characters

text: The list below contains those that have been credited within the show's title sequence and those who are credited as "also starring". Recurring and guest stars are listed on the individual season pages.

text:
Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes: The series' protagonist and a former sheriff's deputy, who is the leader of the main group of survivors. He becomes a more cold and calculating leader over the course of the series.
Jon Bernthal as Shane Walsh: Rick's former police partner and close friend. (seasons 1–2; special guest star season 3)
Sarah Wayne Callies as Lori Grimes: Rick's wife, who has an affair with Shane when she believes Rick is dead. (seasons 1–3)
Laurie Holden as Andrea: A former civil rights attorney and member of the original Atlanta group of survivors. (seasons 1–3)
Jeffrey DeMunn as Dale Horvath: An older member of the group, who owns the RV with which the group travels. He is often the voice of reason within the group. (seasons 1–2)
Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee: A former pizza delivery boy, who saves Rick's life. He begins a relationship with Maggie Greene, and over the course of the series, becomes an integral member of the group. (seasons 1–7)
Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes: Rick and Lori's young son, who is forced to mature and learn to survive in the deadly new world.
Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon: The group's primary hunter, who becomes a key member of the group. (season 2–present; recurring season 1)
Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier: Originally a meek housewife, she overcomes domestic abuse to become a strong and empowered woman capable of making difficult decisions. (season 2–present; recurring season 1)
Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene: The eldest daughter of the Greene family and who begins a relationship with Glenn. (season 3–present; recurring season 2)
Danai Gurira as Michonne: A katana-wielding, quiet, but fierce woman who joins Rick's group. (season 3–present)
Michael Rooker as Merle Dixon: Daryl's racist and volatile older brother. In season three, he is the right-hand man to the Governor. (season 3; guest seasons 1–2)
David Morrissey as Philip Blake / The Governor: The antagonistic leader of the town of Woodbury. He is ruthless, paranoid, and dangerous. (seasons 3–4; special guest star season 5)
Scott Wilson as Hershel Greene: A veterinarian and farmer, who maintains his faith and acts as the group's primary moral compass. (seasons 3–4; recurring season 2)
Emily Kinney as Beth Greene: A soft-spoken teenage girl, Hershel's younger daughter, and Maggie's younger half-sister. (seasons 4–5; recurring seasons 2–3)
Chad L. Coleman as Tyreese Williams: Tough and compassionate, he places an emphasis on moral reasoning. He struggles to cope with the immoral nature of some of the group's survival tactics and finds it difficult to kill in defense of the group. (seasons 4–5; recurring season 3)
Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha Williams: Tyreese's fiery younger sister and a former firefighter, who is the group's sharpshooter. After several personal losses, she suffers from PTSD. (seasons 4–7; recurring season 3)
Lawrence Gilliard Jr. as Bob Stookey: A former army medic and recovering alcoholic, who develops a close relationship with Sasha. (seasons 4–5)
Michael Cudlitz as Abraham Ford: A former military sergeant, who is on a mission to bring a survivor to Washington, D.C., to find a cure for the walker virus. (seasons 5–7; recurring season 4)
Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler: A former police academy student and ally of the Governor's before joining Rick's group. She serves as a primary supply runner. (season 5–present; recurring season 4)
Josh McDermitt as Eugene Porter: A man who claims to know a cure for the walker virus. He is weak and inefficient when dealing with walkers, but is very smart. (season 5–present; recurring season 4)
Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa: A tough, focused, and a very capable survivor and also Abraham's girlfriend. (season 5–present; recurring season 4)
Andrew J. West as Gareth: The cannibalistic leader of Terminus, who captures and coerces Rick's group into submission. (season 5; guest season 4)
Seth Gilliam as Gabriel Stokes: A priest, who joins Rick's group. He lacks experience of walkers and struggles with his faith in the new world. (season 5–present)
Lennie James as Morgan Jones: The first survivor Rick encounters in season one. After suffering a psychological break, he comes to peace with the world around him. (season 6–present, recurring season 5, special guest star season 3; guest season 1)
Ross Marquand as Aaron: An Alexandrian recruiter, who brings Rick's group to Alexandria. (season 6–present; recurring season 5)
Tovah Feldshuh as Deanna Monroe: A former Congresswoman and leader of Alexandria. (season 6; recurring season 5)
Alexandra Breckenridge as Jessie Anderson: An Alexandria resident, who develops a relationship with Rick. (season 6; recurring season 5)
Austin Nichols as Spencer Monroe: Deanna's son and a guard of Alexandria. (seasons 6–7; recurring season 5)
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan: The psychopathic leader of the Saviors that he rules in tyranny. (season 7–present; special guest star season 6)[29]
Austin Amelio as Dwight: A ruthless and reluctant member of the Saviors. (season 7–present; recurring season 6)[29]
Tom Payne as Paul "Jesus" Rovia: A member and scout for the Hilltop Colony. (season 7–present; recurring season 6)[29]
Xander Berkeley as Gregory: The selfish and arrogant leader of the Hilltop Colony. (season 7–present; guest season 6)[29]
Katelyn Nacon as Enid: An isolated teenager in Alexandria, who forms a bond with Carl. (season 8; recurring seasons 5–7)[30]
Khary Payton as Ezekiel: The "king" of a community known as the Kingdom. (season 8; recurring season 7)
Steven Ogg as Simon: A high-ranking member of the Saviors, serving as Negan's right-hand man. (season 8, recurring season 7; guest season 6)[30]
Pollyanna McIntosh as Jadis: The impassive leader of the Scavengers. (season 8; recurring season 7)[30]

tag: ul

text: Darabont connections

text: The series features several actors whom Walking Dead developer Frank Darabont has worked with previously, including Laurie Holden (Andrea), Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale Horvath), Melissa McBride (Carol Peletier), Sam Witwer (the dead soldier in the tank where Rick hides in "Days Gone Bye"), and Juan Gabriel Pareja (Morales). All five appeared in his 2007 film The Mist, along with Thomas Jane, who originally was set to star in the series when it was pitched to HBO. Jane was later in talks with Darabont to possibly guest star on the series as of fall 2010,[31] but with Darabont's departure,[32] it is unknown whether the guest spot will happen or not. Laurie Holden also appeared in the 2001 film The Majestic (as Adele Stanton, Jim Carrey's character's love interest), which Darabont directed. DeMunn has also appeared in several of Darabont's films; in addition to The Mist and The Majestic, he appeared in The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Green Mile (1999). It was planned that Witwer (Private Jessup in Darabont's The Mist) would reprise his "Days Gone Bye" role in the original conception of The Walking Dead's season two premiere[33] and in a webisode,[34] but both plans were discarded.[35]

text: Production

text: Development

text: 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.[36] The entire series was pre-ordered based just on the strength of the source material, the television scripts, and Darabont's involvement.[37] In January 2010 a review of the pilot episode's script attracted further attention.[38] The pilot began filming in Atlanta, Georgia on May 15, 2010[39] after AMC had officially ordered a six episode first season.[40] The series' remaining episodes began filming on June 2, 2010 with Darabont serving as showrunner.[41][42] 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.[43] He would also like to include some of the "environmental elements" that take place during Volume 2 of Kirkman's book.[44]

text: Crew

text: 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.[45]

text: On December 1, 2010, Deadline.com reported that Darabont had fired his writing staff, including executive producer Charles "Chic" Eglee, and planned to use freelance writers for the second season.[46] 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 season two.[47]

text: [Chic Eglee] was brought onto The Walking Dead with the idea that Frank was going to work on the first season and then go off and do movies [...] Chic didn't want to be second-in-command on a show when he's used to being a top dog, and so he decided to go off and do something else, which is something that happens and is not a big deal.

text: 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 show 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."[48] In July 2011, series developer and showrunner Frank Darabont stepped down from his position as showrunner for the series, over unclear circumstances (see Lawsuit below).[49]

text: Executive producer Glen Mazzara was appointed the new showrunner in Darabont's place.[50] 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.

text: 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."[51] Scott M. Gimple succeeded Mazzara as showrunner for season four,[52] with new writers joining the writing staff, such as Curtis Gwinn, Channing Powell, and Matt Negrete.[53] In January 2018, it was announced that, upon Gimple's promotion to the newly-created position of Chief Content Officer of the entire Walking Dead franchise, that Angela Kang would replace him as showrunner beginning with the forthcoming ninth season.[54]

text: Writing

text: The television series generally tends to follow Kirkman's comic series across major characters and plots; for instance, events of the premiere episode of season 7 correlate to events in issue #100 of the comics.[55][56] The show does not attempt to go step-by-step with the comics, and has leeway in the narrative. In particular, the show's writers, along with Kirkman, often "transfer" how a character has died in the comics to a different character in the show. For example, in season 4, 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 receives this fate.[55] Some of the television characters, like Carol, have far outlived their comic counterpart, while others that have already been killed off, like Sophia and Andrea, remained alive for some time in the ongoing comic series.[56] In addition, the writers have included characters wholly novel to the series such as Daryl Dixon, which producer Gale Anne Hurd says helps to create a new dynamic for the show, and keeps the audience guessing from what had already been established in the comic series.[57]

text: Music

text: 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.[58]

text: It repeats over and over, and in fact in the pilot episode, you start hearing it before the main title begins, and this is something that continues episode to episode. You hear the main title music before the main title begins, so you know it's coming. That, to me, was the little hook – that little thing that, whenever you hear it, it takes you to the series.

text: Soundtracks

text: Four soundtracks for The Walking Dead have been released to date. The Walking Dead: AMC Original Soundtrack, Vol. 1 was released on March 17, 2013.[59] The second volume was released on March 25, 2014.[60] 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.[61] 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.[62]

text: Makeup

text: 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 zombies. 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.[63]

text: Filming

text: The Walking Dead is mostly filmed in Georgia.[64] Since 2002, the state has offered a tax incentive for large film productions to drive producers to the state and bolster its economy.[65]

text: The first season was filmed primary in Atlanta, though required a great deal of coordination with the city to shut down streets and parks for film.[65] Production for subsequent seasons moved mainly to Riverwood Studios (doing business as Raleigh Studios Atlanta), a plot of land approximately 120 acres (0.49 km2) outside of Senoia, Georgia. Some existing buildings were used here, such as a subdivision that is used by several families that serves as the Alexandria Safe-Zone, while 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 Season 5, was removed and its spot used for the iconic setting for the first meeting between Rick's group and Negan in Season 7. The property includes sound stages constructed for interior shots, which then may be reused; the interior sets for the prison during Season 3 were reused to serve as the buildings and sets for the Savior's Sanctuary in Season 7.[66][67] In July 2017, AMC purchased the studio lot from Riverwood for $8.25 million.[68]

text: Some scenes are shot outside of the studio. Woodbury, during Season 3, 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.[66][67]

text: The series is completely shot on 16 mm film.[69] 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,[70] special effects coordinator Darrell Pritchett, and visual effects supervisors Sam Nicholson and Jason Sperling.[71]

text: Marketing

text: 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 U.S. premiere.[72]

text: The show's official website released, just prior to the San Diego Comic-Con in 2010, a motion comic based on Issue No. 1 of the original comic and voiced by Phil LaMarr.[73] 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 show executive producer Robert Kirkman as well as artist Charlie Adlard say they are pleased with how faithful the show is to the comic and remark on the similarities between the actors and the comic's original character drawings.[74]

text: 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.[75]

text: Green initiatives

text: 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 shows 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."[76][77]

text: 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."[76] Additionally, the production team aims to reduce vehicle idling, which decreases carbon dioxide emissions.[76][77][78]

text: 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."[76]

text: Franchise and spin-offs

text: Webisodes

text: To date, three web series based on The Walking Dead have been released via AMC's website–Torn Apart (2011), Cold Storage (2012), and The Oath (2013).[79]

text: Motion comic

text: In 2011, AMC debuted an animated comic book version of The Walking Dead novel's beginning, featuring the voice of actor Phil LaMarr.[80]

text: Talking Dead

text: A live after-show titled Talking Dead premiered on AMC on October 16, 2011, following the encore presentation of The Walking Dead's season two premiere. Talking Dead features host Chris Hardwick discussing the latest episode with fans, actors, and producers of The Walking Dead.[81]

text: Fear the Walking Dead

text: Fear the Walking Dead is a companion series to The Walking Dead, developed by AMC. AMC started development of the show around September 2013 and committed to a two-season broadcast by March 2015.[82][18][83] Fear the Walking Dead was first broadcast on August 23, 2015,[19] and is renewed for a fourth season.

text: Fear the Walking Dead features a different set of characters, developed by Kirkman. The series starts at the onset of the zombie apocalypse, and follows several people that escape Los Angeles as the military attempts to quarantine the city, and seek refuge along the west coast of the United States and Mexico. The fourth season of Fear the Walking Dead will feature a crossover with The Walking Dead, specifically through the character Morgan Jones (played by Lennie James) during events between the first and second second of The Walking Dead.[84][85]

text: Parodies and spoofs

text: Due to its popularity, The Walking Dead has inspired dozens of parodies and spoofs featured on YouTube channels like Bad Lip Reading and TV shows such as Saturday Night Live[86][87][88] and Mad TV.[89] Bad Lip Reading made a widely viewed parody involving Rick and the Governor, entitled "La-Bibbida-Bibba-Dum".[90] The series' cast was shown the parody at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2013, and David Morrissey—who portrays the Governor— reacted by saying he now understood why so many people would walk up to him on the street and blurt, "Hey, La-Bibbida-Bibba-Dum!". Until seeing the video, he had wondered, "what's wrong with these people?"[91] The Walking Dead has also been represented as a live comedy performance by English comedian Dan Willis at the Edinburgh Festival.[92]

text: Release

text: Scenes from the pilot were screened July 23, 2010, as part of the San Diego Comic-Con in 2010.[93] It premiered on AMC on October 31, 2010, and premiered internationally on Fox International Channels during the first week of November.[7][8] Almost two weeks before the official premiere on AMC, the pilot episode leaked online.[94]

text: International broadcast rights for the show were sold and announced on June 14, 2010.[95] The show airs on Fox International Channels in 126 countries in 33 languages. The fifth season debuted its first part on October 13, 2014.[96] The second part premiered on February 9, 2015.[97]

text: Home media

text: The season 1 DVD and Blu-ray was released on March 8, 2011.[98] A three-disc special edition of the first season—featuring new featurettes and audio commentaries—was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 4, 2011.[99] The European versions of the first season DVD and Blu-ray are edited for gore, with cuts to episode two ("Guts"),[100] episode three ("Tell It to the Frogs"),[101] episode four ("Vatos")[102] and episode five ("Wildfire").[103] Until eOne/WVG re-released the first season in D-A-CH in a Special Uncut Version on DVD and Blu-ray on May 31, 2013.[104]

text: The season 2 DVD and Blu-ray was released on August 28, 2012. It was also released as a limited edition Blu-ray, packaged as a miniature zombie head designed by McFarlane Toys. Special features include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, webisodes, and several featurettes.[105]

text: The season 3 DVD and Blu-ray was released on August 27, 2013. It was also released as a limited edition Blu-ray, packaged as a miniature version of the Governor's zombie head aquarium tank designed by Greg Nicotero and sculpted by McFarlane Toys. Special features include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and several featurettes.[106]

text: The season 4 DVD and Blu-ray was released on August 26, 2014. It was also released as a limited edition Blu-ray, packaged with a tree-walker designed by McFarlane Toys. Special features include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and several featurettes, as well as extended episodes which are exclusive to the Blu-ray.[107]

text: The season 5 DVD and Blu-ray was released on August 25, 2015.[108]

text: Syndication

text: MyNetworkTV acquired the broadcast syndication rights to the series, premiering on October 1, 2014.[109] The version that airs on MyNetworkTV is edited to meet broadcast television standards.[110]

text: Reception

text: Critical reception

text:
Season
Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes
Metacritic

1
89% (24 reviews)[111]
82 (25 reviews)[112]

2
83% (22 reviews)[113]
80 (22 reviews)[114]

3
89% (32 reviews)[115]
82 (19 reviews)[116]

4
86% (30 reviews)[117]
75 (16 reviews)[118]

5
90% (31 reviews)[119]
80 (11 reviews)[120]

6
78% (23 reviews)[121]
79 (10 reviews)[122]

7
60% (11 reviews)[123]
N/A

8
69% (14 reviews)[124]
N/A

text: All seasons of The Walking Dead have been well reviewed by recognized critics, with an 89% approval rating for the series to date on Rotten Tomatoes.[15] For the first season, 24 Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a positive review, with an average score of 7.49/10. That site's consensus states, "Blood-spattered, emotionally resonant, and white-knuckle intense, The Walking Dead puts an intelligent spin on the overcrowded zombie subgenre."[111] Metacritic scored the first season 82/100 based on 25 critic reviews, 23 of which were positive, two mixed, and none negative.[112] Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com included the show on their list of 9 new TV shows not to miss, giving it a grade of "A", with the author saying, "A film-quality drama series about zombies? Somebody pinch me!"[125]

text: For the second season, 83% of 22 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes were positive, with an average score of 8.09/10. The site's consensus states, "The second season of The Walking Dead fleshes out the characters while maintaining the grueling tension and gore that made the show a hit."[113] Of 22 Metacritic critic reviews, 18 were positive, four were mixed, and none were negative; their average score was 80/100.[114] Early criticism of the show focused on the slow pace of the second season, particularly the first half. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly, described the series as "a nighttime soap", comparing it to "a parody of a Samuel Beckett play" that had very little sense of direction and few appearances of walkers.[126] Nate Rawlings of Time's online entertainment section noted that "the pace during the first half of this season has been brutally slow. [...] They've tried to develop individual characters, but each subplot meant to add a layer to a character has been quickly resolved."[127] Later reviews from other critics, such as Scott Wampler of Collider.com, recognized the increased quality of the second half, stating it "seemed far more intense, more interesting, better written".[128] Recognizing the overall season, Kevin Yeoman of Screen Rant offered praise saying "the writers succeeded in unshackling themselves from the intermittent monotony brought about by the serial nature of the show".[129]

text: The third season had 89% of Rotten Tomatoes' 32 critics giving it a positive review, with an average score of 8.12/10. The site's consensus states, "The palpable terror and visceral thrills continue in the third season of The Walking Dead, along with a deeper sense of the people who inhabit its apocalyptic landscape."[115] Metacritic's 19 critics rated the season 82/100, all of whom gave a positive review.[116] Verne Gay of Newsday claimed that the season 3 premiere "doesn't disappoint" going on to say that there are "spots where you will yell out at the screen, 'Oh, my God, that just didn't happen.' Yes, the new season is that good", concluding his review by giving the season an A+ rating.[130]

text: For season four, 86% of Rotten Tomatoes' 30 critic reviews were positive, with an average score of 7.66/10. The site's consensus states, "Consistently thrilling, with solid character development and enough gore to please grindhouse fans, this season of The Walking Dead continues to demonstrate why it's one of the best horror shows on television".[117] Metacritic scored the season 75/100 based on 16 critic reviews, 13 of which were positive, three mixed, and none negative.[118]

text: The fifth season had 90% of Rotten Tomatoes' 31 critic reviews rating it positively, with an average score of 7.88/10. The site's consensus states, "Thanks to a liberal dose of propulsive, bloody action and enough compelling character moments to reward longtime fans, The Walking Dead's fifth season continues to deliver top-notch entertainment."[119] Metacritic scored the fifth season 80/100 based on 11 critic reviews, all of which were positive.[120]

text: For season six, 78% of Rotten Tomatoes' 23 critic reviews were positive, with an average score of 7.35/10. The site's consensus states, "Six seasons in, The Walking Dead is still finding ways to top itself, despite slow patches that do little to advance the plot."[121] Metacritic scored the sixth season 79/100 based on 10 critic reviews, nine of which were positive, one mixed, and none negative.[122]

text: For the seventh season, 60% of Rotten Tomatoes' 11 critic reviews rated it positively, with an average score of 6.97/10. The site's consensus is, "Increased character depth and effective world-building helps The Walking Dead overcome a tiresome reliance on excessive, gratuitous violence."[123]

text: Ratings

text: The Walking Dead has the highest total viewership of any series in cable television history, including its third through sixth seasons, during which it averaged the most 18- to 49-year-old viewers of all cable or broadcast television shows.[9][10][11] Total viewership for its season five premiere was 17.3 million, the most-watched series episode in cable history.[131] In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that like most other zombie shows, The Walking Dead "is most popular in rural areas, particularly southern Texas and eastern Kentucky".[132]

text:
Season
Timeslot (ET)
Episodes
First aired
Last aired
Avg. viewers
(millions)

Date
Viewers
(millions)
Date
Viewers
(millions)

1
Sunday 10:00 pm
6
October 31, 2010 (2010-10-31)
5.35[133]
December 5, 2010 (2010-12-05)
5.97[134]
5.24[135]

2
Sunday 9:00 pm
13
October 16, 2011 (2011-10-16)
7.26[136]
March 18, 2012 (2012-03-18)
8.99[137]
6.90[138]

3
16
October 14, 2012 (2012-10-14)
10.87[139]
March 31, 2013 (2013-03-31)
12.40[140]
10.40[141]

4
16
October 13, 2013 (2013-10-13)
16.11[142]
March 30, 2014 (2014-03-30)
15.68[143]
13.30[144]

5
16
October 12, 2014 (2014-10-12)
17.30[131]
March 29, 2015 (2015-03-29)
15.78[145]
14.40[146]

6
16
October 11, 2015 (2015-10-11)
14.63[147]
April 3, 2016 (2016-04-03)
14.19[148]
13.15[149]

7
16
October 23, 2016 (2016-10-23)
17.03[150]
April 2, 2017 (2017-04-02)
11.31[151]
11.34[152]

8
16
October 22, 2017 (2017-10-22)
11.44[153]
TBA
TBD
TBD

text:
Season
Ep. 1
Ep. 2
Ep. 3
Ep. 4
Ep. 5
Ep. 6
Ep. 7
Ep. 8
Ep. 9
Ep. 10
Ep. 11
Ep. 12
Ep. 13
Ep. 14
Ep. 15
Ep. 16
Average

1
5.35
4.71
5.07
4.75
5.56
5.97
N/A
5.24

2
7.26
6.70
6.10
6.29
6.12
6.08
6.62
8.10
6.89
7.04
6.77
6.89
8.99
N/A
6.91[154]

3
10.97
9.55
10.51
9.27
10.37
9.21
10.43
10.48
12.26
11.05
11.01
11.30
11.46
10.84
10.99
12.42
10.75[154]

4
16.11
13.95
12.92
13.31
12.20
12.00
11.29
12.05
15.76
13.34
13.12
12.61
12.65
12.87
13.47
15.68
13.33[155]

5
17.30
15.14
13.80
14.52
13.53
14.07
13.33
14.81
15.64
12.27
13.44
14.43
14.53
13.78
13.76
15.78
14.38[156]

6
14.63
12.18
13.14
13.34
12.44
12.87
13.22
13.98
13.74
13.48
12.79
12.81
12.53
12.67
12.38
14.19
13.15[157]

7
17.03
12.46
11.72
11.40
11.00
10.40
10.48
10.58
12.00
11.08
10.43
10.16
10.68
10.32
10.54
11.31
11.35[158]

8
11.44
8.92
8.52
8.69
7.85
8.28
7.47
7.89
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

text: Awards and nominations

text: The Walking Dead was nominated for Best New Series by the Writers Guild of America Awards 2011[16] and Best Television Series Drama by the 68th Golden Globe Awards.[17] The show was named one of the top 10 television programs of 2010 by the American Film Institute Awards 2010.[160] For the 37th Saturn Awards, the series received six nominations—for Best Television Presentation, Andrew Lincoln for Best Actor in Television, Sarah Wayne Callies for Best Actress on Television, Steven Yeun for Best Supporting Actor in Television, Laurie Holden for Best Supporting Actress in Television, and Noah Emmerich for Best Guest Starring Role in Television.[161] The series was nominated for Best Drama Series by the inaugural 1st Critics' Choice Television Awards.[162] The pilot episode "Days Gone Bye" received three nominations from the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards—for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series and Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series[163] and won for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie, or Special.[164] For the 41st Saturn Awards, the series received its highest number of nominations, with a total of seven, including for the show itself, Andrew Lincoln for Best Actor on Television, Norman Reedus for Best Supporting Actor on Television, Emily Kinney and Melissa McBride for Best Supporting Actress on Television, Andrew J. West for Best Guest Star on Television, and Chandler Riggs for Best Young Performer on Television.[165]

text: Lawsuits

text: Darabont's departure as showrunner in July 2011 during the second season came as surprise to many, as it came shortly after the season's premiere and a few days after that year's Comic-Con, where Darabont helped to promote the show.[166] It was speculated that he was unable to adjust to the schedule of running a television series.[49] However, The Hollywood Reporter reported that AMC had fired him. There had been reported difficulties in the production of the second season, including disputes over planned budget cuts and executive meddling, and it was known that Darabont and AMC had several discussions relating to these factors. However, neither Darabont, AMC, nor the cast nor crew of The Walking Dead spoke about the reasons for his firing.[167]

text: In December 2013, Darabont and his agents from Creative Artists Agency (CAA) filed a lawsuit against AMC in a New York court, citing breach of contract. A central part of Darabont's lawsuit accuses AMC of denying him and the CAA the promised profits from the success of the series, based on how AMC had used vertical integration in producing and distributing The Walking Dead.[166] As stated in Darabont's filing, he had initially entered into a contract with AMC to have a third-party studio produce the show, from which he would have obtained 12.5% of that entity's profits, after standard deductions. AMC wanted to produce the show in-house, and for the first season, Darabont's lawyers had been assured that Darabont would be protected from self-dealing fees by having AMC commit to imputed license fees equivalent to those of other independent studios, with Darabont earning profit from that. Darabont's suit contends that when the show's popularity took off, AMC presented a license fee deal to Darabont around February 2011 that used "an unconscionably low license fee formula" such that AMC could report the show running at a loss and ensuring that Darabont would never see any profit from the show; as an example, the suit references statements in 2012, following Season 2, that AMC claimed the show was running at a $49 million deficit, despite being one of the most popular shows in broadcast.[166] Darabont's suit contends he was fired just at the start of the Season 2 so that AMC would avoid having to pay him.[166]

text: Initial discovery phase hearings were held in 2014. Darabont's lawyers sought to gain information from AMC on their other shows, specifically Breaking Bad and Mad Men, to obtain a "fair market value" for The Walking Dead. AMC asserted it had done no wrongdoing, had already paid Darabont $3 million upfront for two seasons, and was able to properly set the imputed license fee that worked into the profit formula for Darabont. The network resisted the request to provide otherwise confidential information on the other shows.[168] The court granted Darabont's lawyers access to the requested information as part of the discovery phase.[169] Darabont described "crisis-level problems" during the show's production while under deposition, claiming that AMC had cut the per-episode budget from $3.4 million to $3 million while keeping the tax credit offered by the state of Georgia for filming there, effectively reducing the production budget by 25%.[170]

text: In August 2015, Darabont requested to amend his original complaint that AMC further reduced his profits from Season 2 as his firing mid-season meant he was not fully vested in the season, allowing AMC to reduce the profits paid him. Darabont's amended request points out that he had written and produced all the episodes in that season already and was entitled to the proper profit share.[171] The judge granted this amendment in February 2016, partially influenced by concerns raised in Darabont's deposition.[172]

text: At the end of the discovery phase in September 2016, Darabont's lawyers stated they are seeking damages of over $280 million; AMC stated they will "vigorously" defend against the lawsuit. If the case does go to trial, it is expected to occur during 2018.[173] Summary judgement statements were completed in July 2017, with the judge expected to rule in August.[174]

text: In August 2017, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Charles Eglee, Glen Mazzara and David Alpert filed similar lawsuits against AMC, citing breach of contract over profits owed to them as a result of AMC's vertical integration. As with Darabont, each had been given a certain percentage of the show's profits based on if the show was produced by a third-party, but when it was transitioned to AMC Studios, their share was dramatically reduced. The Hollywood Reporter estimated that if the four seek similar damages as Darabont, the lawsuit could be as high as $1 billion.[175] The suits, filed separately in Los Angeles and New York City, will be consolidated into a single case to be heard in a California court.[176] Kirkman and the others said that despite the lawsuit, they will continue to work as "partners" with AMC to assure continued success of The Walking Dead and its spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead.[177]


document_title: Former Presidents Act

question_text: how long do former presidents get secret service protection

text: Former Presidents Act

text: History[edit]

text: Before 1958, the U.S. federal government provided no pension or other retirement benefits to former United States presidents. Andrew Carnegie offered to endow a US$25,000 annual pension for former Chief Executives in 1912, but congressmen questioned the propriety of such a private pension. That prompted legislation to provide benefits to former presidents.[1]

text: When the Former Presidents Act took effect, there were two living former presidents: Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to fall under the act upon leaving office.

text: The original act provided for lifetime Secret Service protection for former presidents. In 1997, it was reduced to 10 years for presidents taking office after 1997. The 1997 amendment was reverted by the Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012 (Pub.L. 112–257).[2] All living former presidents and their spouses are now entitled to receive lifetime Secret Service protection.[3]

text: Current status[edit]

text: By law, former presidents are entitled to a pension, staff and office expenses, medical care or health insurance, and Secret Service protection.

text: Pension[edit]

text: The Secretary of the Treasury pays a taxable pension to the president. Former presidents receive a pension equal to the pay that the head of an executive department (Executive Level I) would be paid, as of 2015[update] $203,700 per year.[4] The pension begins immediately after a president's departure from office.[5] A former president's spouse may also be paid a lifetime annual pension of $20,000 if they relinquish any other statutory pension.[1]

text: Transition[edit]

text: Washington Transition funding for the expenses of leaving office is available for seven months. It covers office space, staff compensation, communications services, and printing and postage associated with the transition.[1]

text: Staff and office[edit]

text: Private office staff and related funding is provided by the Administrator of the General Services Administration. Persons employed under this subsection are selected by and responsible only to the former president for the performance of their duties. Each former president fixes basic rates of compensation for persons employed for him, not exceeding an annualized total of $150,000 for the first 30 months and $96,000 thereafter.[1]

text: Medical insurance[edit]

text: Former presidents are entitled to medical treatment in military hospitals; they pay for this at interagency rates set by the Office of Management and Budget. Two-term presidents may buy health insurance under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program; a GSA legal opinion ruled Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush ineligible.[1][6]

text: Secret Service protection[edit]

text: Former presidents were entitled from 1965 to 1996 to lifetime Secret Service protection, for themselves, spouses, and children under 16. A 1994 statute, (Pub.L. 103–329), limited post-presidential protection to ten years for presidents inaugurated after January 1, 1997.[7] Under this statute, Bill Clinton would still be entitled to lifetime protection, and all subsequent presidents would have been entitled to ten years' protection.[8] On January 10, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012, reinstating lifetime Secret Service protection for his predecessor George W. Bush, himself, and all subsequent presidents.[9]

text: Richard Nixon relinquished his Secret Service protection in 1985, the only president to do so.[10]