Every Season Of The Walking Dead, Ranked By IMDb Average

Somehow, The Walking Dead has lasted an impressive 12 years. It started off as a short exploration through a tight-knit group surviving the zombie apocalypse but has expanded through hundreds of characters with only a few of the original cast members remaining alive and on the show.

There has also been a lot of fluctuation in terms of quality. The show started off strong, then reached a strange turning point, dipped hugely and has begun to work its way back up. We’ve used IMDb to work out the specific qualities of each season.

Updated April 6, 2022 by Christine Persaud: The Walking Dead is coming to a close once it’s extended 11th season officially wraps up after 24 episodes. Die-hard fans need not worry as many of the characters will be returning for spin-offs series, including Carol, Daryl, Maggie, and Negan. Let’s not forget the upcoming spin-off movies as well that will star beloved long-time protagonist Rick Grimes. Still, fans feel bittersweet about the show coming to an end, which is perfect time to look back at the 11 seasons thus far and how they fared. While the show went through a troubling few seasons were it lost its spark, it’s safe to say that compelling new villains like The Whisperers, a turnaround for villain-turned-good-guy Negan, and refreshed storylines helped bring the show back to the one that fans have known and loved.

11 Season 8 (7.0)

Season eight marked a shocking dip in the quality of Walking Dead. By this point in the show, the curve of enjoyment and quality was already on the way down, but the plummet into season eight was something very few could have predicted. Fans were happy that the too-long conflict with the Saviors had finally come to an end, but were angered that Rick decided to spare Negan’s life and wondering where that could take the story going forward. Negan was arguably the biggest villain on The Walking Dead but fans felt his storyline had run its course.

One of the most upsetting moments from the season, however, was the death of Carl who fans had come to love and appreciate. Considering the character has such a huge role in the comics on which the show is based, fans were left feeling cheated when he was killed off.

10 Season 10 (7.5)

There were some high moments in this season, including the scenes with Michonne stuck in a dark room, left to hallucinate a variety of alternate versions of her life. Despite the strong performance, however, fans weren’t glued to their TVs for this season. It did include Negan’s redemption, which fans loved to see, but also Carol’s obsession with Alpha that almost got many of her allies killed and left Connie missing and presumed dead.

Highlights included the introduction of characters like Princess as well as the first glimpse of existence of The Commonwealth, which intrigued fans but wasn’t enough to result in the season ranking any higher on the list.

9 Season 7 (7.5)

There was so much build up to that pivotal scene in season 7 that would reveal who would meet the end of Negan’s bat that by the time it happened, fans had already spent months guessing and were frustrating at the cliffhanger. The gruesome nature of the scene didn’t sit well with viewers with many declaring they would abandon the show after its shift to what they called gratuitous violence. This season marked a major turning point for the show.

Along with seeing the death of fan favorite character Glenn, fans weren’t excited to see another fan favorite character Daryl being held in captivity for much of the season. The season was slow, delivering any semblance of action in the first episode that left fans gutted and unable to recover for some time.

8 Season 9 (8.0)

Despite the huge dip in quality, the show has experienced over the course of its existence, season nine certainly seemed to demonstrate a show that was pulling itself out of the murky waters after the abomination of season eight. This season was the final time we’d see Rick Grimes, but he was far from dead (in fact, a trilogy of films are still to come), as well as one of the most up and down seasons in the show’s history.

The penultimate episode racks up an impressive score of 9.4, before the season finale ‘The Storm’ really took down everyone’s expectations and ended the season on a low (7.6) note. It’s the first season as well that marked a major time jump. But what really carried this season was the introduction of the most feral, captivating group of villains, The Whisperers.

7 Season 11 (8.2)

Season 11 marks the shows last and has seen exciting new storylines that place the season firmly in the middle of the pack when it comes to how well it ranks. The group found The Commonwealth, one of the strongest communities on The Walking Dead and most pre-apocalypse-like community they have encountered to date, which comes a new set of challenges. Among them is the season’s presumed last primary villain, Lance Hornsby, who isn’t content with being second-in-command and wants more power, wealth, and control.

The season centers around a number of core plotlines, including dealing with the Commonwealth and correcting its wrongs and conflict between Maggie and Negan. With exciting new characters like Mercer, the news of a potential Negan baby, and Leah on the loose with plans to take out Maggie, fans are in for a wild ride to see how the story finally comes to an end for all of the favorite characters.

6 Season 6 (8.3)

From Carl losing an eye to the fake-out death of Glenn and the big reveal of Negan, there was a lot going on this season. The season might have ranked higher had it not been for the big disappointment surrounding the final scene, which did not reveal the character who would die at the hands of Negan.

The Saviors were the primary villains, and fans had hoped for a resolution to start fresh in the new season. But that wasn’t the case. But fans were intrigued by the group’s life in Alexandria and how they had managed to carve out a semblance of real existence despite the dire circumstances outside of the walls.

5 Season 4 (8.3)

The first half of season four was the pinnacle of Walking Dead. They were hauled up in the prison, and about to be ravaged by illness. Episode five is one of the most emotional in the history of the show, with Hershel roaming the prison caring for everyone as Ben Howard’s ‘Oats In The Water’ soundtracks our tears.

As is typically agreed by viewers, the mid-season finale ‘Too Far Gone’ is both the best episode of Walking Dead and one of the best episodes of TV of all time. Unfortunately, the second half of that season in which the survivors are split up, both brings its average down and marks the start of the show’s demise. Nonetheless, the journey to Terminus, the heart wrenching “look at the flowers” moment, and the wrath of The Governor, one of the most intelligent villains on The Walking Dead, made the season one worth watching.

4 Season 5 (8.4)

Beth and Daryl are off on their own adventure while most of the group are trying to avoid being eaten by cannibals. This season doesn’t have the standout brilliant moments from the previous season, but it does have consistency on its side. While the mid-season losses of Beth and Tyreese hit hard, they weren’t quite important enough for them to have anywhere near the power of Hershel’s death in the previous season.

However, this season had some other pivotal moments, including Rick’s killing of Pete, just as Morgan surprisingly reappears on the show to witness this brutal change in his friend, and the introduction of The Wolves, though they turned out to be one of the least compelling groups on the show.

3 Season 2 (8.4)

This season had some of the best moments in the show: the introduction of Hershel, the hunt for Sophia, and the massive fire that ravaged the farm in the incredible season finale. This was up there with the strongest the show ever was. It also saw the death of Shane, a man who had a leadership style very different from his friend and former partner Rick, and had reached a point where he was ready to kill him.

But two of the biggest moments in the season include Sophia’s reanimated body stumbling out of the barn, much to Carol’s despair, and the introduction of who would become one of the most fierce and popular characters on the show, Michonne.

2 Season 3 (8.4)

This season is set almost exclusively in the prison, the undoubted best location from Walking Dead. This is the season where Rick is left to reel, and even hallucinate, following the death of his wife Lori while trying to care for a new baby Judith, who he knows is very likely not his biological daughter. Fans love knowing now that Judith has grown to become one of the bravest child characters on The Walking Dead.

The Governor is introduced as the first real villain the show had seem, making him one of the most interesting characters on the show to date. He presented a new enemy in the living who was out for power and control. It was something the group hadn’t yet faced as the Governor was not only living on survival instinct but had amassed a group of followers to work with him.

1 Season 1 (8.6)

Not surprisingly, the first season of the show remains the highest rated one. It was just six episodes long but the story instantly captured fans interest. There were so many questions presented, including how to manage the concept of surviving with no resources, including food and shelter, while fighting off people ambling around without any semblance of humanity left.

Fans loved seeing an eclectic mix of people band together to help one another, from a police sheriff to a pizza delivery boy, a redneck, a battered housewife, and others. It isn’t the most exciting season, nor the most brutal. But The Walking Dead presented  a deep into characters like fans had never seen before. And fans instantly wanted more.