Fear The Walking Dead: Why does this show exist?

I’ll admit, that I’m hooked on AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead. However, whenever I try to talk about this show with family or friends, they’ll say that they haven’t seen it and aren’t sure they want another zombie show to worry about.

Their major gripe is that they don’t know how different the story can be and don’t believe that it can offer enough to give it a unique feel. Because of that, they are hesitant to give the show a try.

In fact, a recent article on the Forbes website questions almost everything about the show. They questioned the ‘goal’ of the show and even say that it is the locations that will likely serve as the only real differences between Fear The Walking Dead and its companion series.

Fear The Walking Dead – AMC /

Personally, I still believe that both zombie shows on AMC are not about the monsters, the locations or even the gore. Instead, I see Fear The Walking Dead as a character study that just happens to have the threat of flesh-eating undead. I firmly believe that the threat could be almost anything, disease, animals, humans, aliens…whatever, but the show would still fail without the strong build of characters.

Fear The Walking Dead is moving in the right direction with its pacing and story. Taking the extra time early on to get to know these interesting characters will pay off in the long run. I’m looking forward to when those hesitating to give the show a try finally do, because I firmly believe they will find themselves drawn by much more than just zombies or the city setting.

Forbes does make a solid point though. These characters are constantly looking for safety and survival. But those two long-term goals are hard to express in a show where each episode needs to feel that it is moving a story forward. With no comic book guide to help Fear The Walking Dead along, the show faces an interesting situation where it can be much more free with storylines, but it also loses that sense of familiarity for those who read the graphic novels.

The bottom line is this: Fear The Walking Dead exists based on the popularity of The Walking Dead. However, I don’t think it needs to set as many short-term goals as Forbes believes. Fans should just sit back and enjoy the ride, much like fans have done with The Walking Dead.

Next: The Walking Dead's 50 most shocking moments and deaths

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