RT Podcast

"Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong" About... The Walking Dead

Relive the highs, the lows, and the baseball-bat blows as we debate the long-running phenomenon as it enters its final season.

by | August 19, 2021 | Comments

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The Walking Dead

(Photo by AMC)

Well, Walking Dead fans, it’s been a journey. A journey that has taken us from the CDC to sprawling farms and on to infested prisons and idyllic-seeming towns and then to Alexandria and beyond. A journey in which we’ve lost some companions we love – don’t even say his name! – and picked up new companions who grew on us… sometimes after, ya know, brutally killing those former loved ones. (Again: don’t even say it!).


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It’s also been a journey on the Tomatometer for The Walking Dead. The show, based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard, arrived on the back of critical acclaim, with a Certified Fresh Tomatometer Score of 87% for its first season. It maintained a Certified Fresh streak right up to season 7, when it hit a series low of 64%, with critics tiring of its violence and a plot that felt increasingly like it was merely walking, shuffling even, when it should have been sprinting forward.

Then, the most recent two seasons saw the Dead bounce back, with season 9 earning a series high Tomatometer score of 91% and critics welcoming the energy, and terror, that the arrival of the Whisperers brought. Early word is that the 11th and final season, which debuts this weekend, continues the hot streak.



With the series lumbering towards its conclusion – and exciting new spin-off series and movies (Rick!) on the way – we thought it was the perfect time to look at all that blood-red Tomatometer data, reminisce about the moments that shook us and the characters that moved us (as well as those we couldn’t wait to get chomped), and ask our favorite question: Is Rotten Tomatoes wrong about… The Walking Dead?

Our latest episode of podcast Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong is an epic one. Joining hosts Jacqueline Coley and Mark Ellis to talk all things Rick and Coral Carl, Negan and Glenn, Daryl and Carol, and beyond is Walking Dead superfan Josh Macuga, founder and host of YouTube’s Good People Association. Will they agree with the critics when it comes to the show’s best and worst seasons? Will they agree with each other about the show’s highs and lows? And did any of them enjoy their time on that farm? Tune in to find out.

Check in every Thursday for a new episode of Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong (A Podcast From Rotten Tomatoes). Each week, hosts Jacqueline and Mark and guests go deep and settle the score on some of the most beloved – and despised – movies and TV shows ever made, directly taking on the statement we hear from so many fans: “Rotten Tomatoes is wrong.”


Check out some more episodes of Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong:


If you have a suggestion for a movie or show you think we should do an episode on, let us know in the comments, or email us at rtiswrong@rottentomatoes.com.


Meet the hosts

Jacqueline Coley is an editor at Rotten Tomatoes, with a focus on awards and indie coverage but with a passion for everything, from the MCU to musicals and period pieces. Coley is a regular moderator at conventions and other events, can be seen on Access Hollywood and other shows, and will not stand Constantine slander of any kind. Follow Jacqueline on Twitter: @THATjacqueline.

Mark Ellis is a comedian and contributing editor for Rotten Tomatoes. He currently hosts the Rotten Tomatoes series Versus, among others, and can be seen co-hosting the sports entertainment phenomenon Movie Trivia Schmoedown. His favorite Star Wars movie is Jedi (guess which one!), his favorite person is actually a dog (his beloved stepdaughter Mollie), and – thanks to this podcast – he’s about to watch Burlesque for the first time in his life. Follow Mark on Twitter: @markellislive.


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