The Walking Dead actor Andrew Lincoln up for a Kid’s Choice Award

Rick (Andrew Lincoln) in episode 809 The Walking Dead (2010). Photo: Gene Page/AMC
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) in episode 809 The Walking Dead (2010). Photo: Gene Page/AMC /
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The Walking Dead actor Andrew Lincoln lands a 2018 Kids’ Choice Award nomination for Favorite TV Actor. Well deserved, yes, but kind of strange, too.

Question: What do Barry Allen (The Flash), Henry Hart (Henry Danger), Max Thunderman (The Thundermans), Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory) and the Red Ninja Steel Ranger from Power Rangers Ninja Steel all have in common with The Walking Dead hero Rick Grimes?

Answer: The actors who play these characters have all been nominated in the Favorite TV Actor category at the 2018 Kids’ Choice Awards on Nickelodeon.

It’s totally cool that Lincoln was nominated, no question. But there’s something a little surprising that Rick Grimes has found a place among kids’ favorite television actors, especially considering that The Walking Dead isn’t exactly a kid-friendly show.

Let me be clear: I know that there are tons of families who watch The Walking Dead together. The show’s dark themes and occasional violence can be too intense for some youngsters, but that is also true of many adults. The reason that this nomination seems so strange is that it’s entirely out of place with the other nominated actors and shows.

In the greater scheme of things, any nomination for The Walking Dead is a good nomination, short of the Razzies, I suppose. The Walking Dead, even at the height of its critically acclaimed run, never received the kind of awards show praise that it deserved while other popular fantasy shows like Game of Thrones have received numerous nominations and wins.

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Voting for the television categories opens Monday, March 12 on the Nickelodeon website. Should Andrew Lincoln pull off a win at the Kids’ Choice Awards, it would be a great moment for the actor and the show following Lincoln’s emotional performance in episode 809.

Nickelodeon’s 2018 Kids’ Choice Awards is hosted by John Cena and airs Saturday, March 24 at 8pm.