TV Our 11 favorite zombie shows, ranked A ranking of the best zombie shows from The Walking Dead onward, as dictated by critics, audiences, and us. By Amanda Ostuni Updated on May 30, 2023 11:41AM EDT In 2010, AMC released The Walking Dead, a zombie show based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman. The series became the network's highest-rated program ever and proved that zombies could work just as well on television as they could on the big screen. While TWD ended in November 2022, zombies haven't left television by any means, from spin-offs like Fear the Walking Dead to newer shows like HBO's The Last of Us. With the continued popularity of the undead walkers on television, we ranked which zombie series over the past decade-plus have had the most infectious bite. Rankings are based on my own preference, plus ratings from IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes (audience score and the Tomatometer critics score), and what EW has written about them over the years. 01 of 11 11. The Walking Dead: World Beyond (2020–2021) The Walking Dead: World Beyond. Chip Jackson/AMC The Walking Dead: World Beyond, the second spin-off of The Walking Dead, focused on a group of teenagers trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. However, the show didn't find the same success as its predecessors. Critics and audiences alike eviscerated the series, which aired on AMC as a "two-season limited event." EW's Darren Franich gave it a C upon its premiere, and its ratings put it at or near the bottom of all categories for this ranking. Its IMDb rating is 4.5/10, its Tomatometer score is 46 percent, and its Rotten Tomatoes audience score is only 35 percent. Thus, it's an easy pick for this last place. But hey, perhaps The Walking Dead's future spin-offs will fare better. 02 of 11 10. Day of the Dead (2021–present) Kristy Dawn Dinsmore as Amy, Morgan Holmstom as Sarah Blackwood, Natalie Malaika as Lauren Howell. Sergei Bachlakov/DOTD S1 Productions/SYFY Much like Netflix's short-lived Resident Evil, Syfy's Day of the Dead was inspired by a film franchise of the same name, created by horror icon George A. Romero. The show follows people in a small town whose lives are upended by a sudden zombie attack. The first season didn't receive much buzz — viewers seemed unimpressed, giving it a 31 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 4.7/10 on IMDb. The show's fate remains uncertain, but it's safe to say Day of the Dead's TV edition doesn't have the same clout as the films. 03 of 11 9. Z Nation (2014–2018) Tom Everett Scott as Garnett. Oliver Irwin/Syfy Netflix's first of several zombie shows featured a particular trope that should be familiar to fans of The Last of Us: a band of fighters must get the one person who survived the zombie virus across the country to a lab so a scientist can potentially develop a world-saving cure. Z Nation did well enough to last five seasons and falls within the top five shows on this list in Rotten Tomatoes audience score (67). However, it's unrated by Rotten Tomatoes critics, falls in the bottom half in other metrics, and was lambasted after its debut by EW's Jeff Jensen. He rated it a D+ and criticized it for not leaning fully into its campy essence, thus taking itself more seriously than it is. As such, Z Nation faltered. 04 of 11 8. Daybreak (2019) Daybreak. Ursula Coyote/Netflix Another of Netflix's zombie shows, Daybreak took a unique approach by presenting a world in which a virus only turns adults into undead creatures. The creatures were technically referred to by the surviving teens as "ghoulies" and, in fact, there's a line where main character Josh Wheeler (Colin Ford) explicitly said ghoulies aren't zombies, but the essence is the same. The ghoulies were not-alive-but-not-dead, eat human flesh, were drawn to noise, etc. The show was middling across all metrics, hence its placement toward the lower end. But if you like your zombie stories with youth and levity (including a fun supporting turn from Ferris Bueller himself, Matthew Broderick), this teenage-led apocalypse is a fun romp. 05 of 11 7. Black Summer (2019–2021) JESSE LIPSCOMBE as MANCE, OWEN CROW SHOE as CIV 2, CHANTELLE HAN as SISTER TWO, and ELAINE YANG as SISTER ONE. NETFLIX Even with Z Nation's shortcomings, Netflix doubled down on it by introducing the prequel spin-off Black Summer, telling the story of the beginning of the zombie outbreak, which characters in Z Nation reference early on. Summer isn't rated as highly as its predecessor by audiences, but critics adore it with its Tomatometer score at 87 percent. Perhaps it's because it has a more defined tone than Z Nation – not as campy, and more committed to being a dark, dramatic take, with solid acting from lead Jaime King (Hart of Dixie). Netflix has not declared whether another season is coming, but the show is worth a watch for diehard fans of the undead. 06 of 11 6. Helix (2014–2015) Billy Campbell as Dr. Alan Farragut, Kyra Zagorsky as Dr. Julia Walker. Philippe Bosse/Syfy SyFy's Helix only lasted two seasons and didn't generate exceptional buzz. Still, it falls fairly high for Tomatometer score (81 percent) and lands in the middle of this list in IMDb rating (6.7/10) and Rotten Tomatoes audience score (66 percent). Unlike most zombie shows, which begin in a world already succumbed to the mass spread of a virus, Helix focused on the very beginning of a zombie virus, featuring the accidental development and how the scientists and military personnel involved tried to contain the base after realizing things have gone awry. This fresh angle, and its relative critical success, earn Helix the middle spot here. 07 of 11 5. Fear the Walking Dead (2015–present) Lennie James as Morgan Jones. Lauren "Lo" Smith/AMC Fear the WalkingDead is the original — and so far, most successful — of The Walking Dead spin-offs. It debuted as a prequel featuring characters experiencing the beginning of the zombie outbreak (The Walking Dead began in a world already overrun). After season 3, it was more like TWD, but the two shows continued to coexist. Overall, this was a hard show to rank. It landed below Helix and Black Summer in Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer scores (73 percent) but above them in IMDb rating (6.8/10). In a season 6 article, EW's Dalton Ross noted that audiences had begun losing interest in FTWD, but season 6 was a substantial resurgence. Given its strengths and cultural presence, I slot FTWD here, fittingly just behind its genesis show. 08 of 11 4. The Walking Dead (2010–2022) Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon on 'The Walking Dead'. Jace Downs/AMC Based on the comic of the same name by Robert Kirkman, the first zombie television show (at least of the modern era) served up a zombie apocalypse story in a serious, dark, gritty tone, but with enough heart and character development to give it depth and emotional realism. Fans fell madly in love with nearly every main character, and each death or triumph sent shockwaves through the fanbase. Over time, fans (myself included) did get sick of the deaths, and the show lost some love (at least in the Twittersphere), but overall, it ties Helix for second among the top zombie shows in IMDb rating (8.1/10) and falls within the top five in all other ranking categories. Thus, it's a no-brainer that The Walking Dead falls toward the top of this list. It infected viewers with a love for zombies, and set the stage for the current zombie TV landscape. 09 of 11 3. Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2019) Drew Barrymore. Saeed Adyani/Netflix When I ranked vampire shows, I said vampires are best serious. Well, two of the top three shows on this list signal the opposite may be true for zombies – the undead should be fun. Santa Clarita Diet infused the zombie genre with a sitcom structure, introducing quirky realtor couple Sheila (Drew Barrymore) and Joel (Timothy Olyphant) and their rebellious teenage daughter Abby (Liv Hewson). After Sheila was exposed to a zombie infection, shenanigans ensued as Joel, Abby, and Abby's friend Eric (Skylar Gisondo) discovered Sheila's condition, trying to keep her fed and cover up her zombie slip-up murders. The hijinks were both fun and endearing, and the cast was perfect – Barrymore and Olyphant flexed comedic muscles and were well-matched by two young and fast-rising stars in Hewson (Yellowjackets) and Gisondo (Booksmart, The Righteous Gemstones). Santa Clarita Diet and the second show on this list were neck-and-neck across all criteria. Santa Clarita landed the better Rotten Tomatoes audience score (94 percent) and tied for third in IMDb ranking (7.8/10), but was edged out in Tomatometer score (Santa Clarita has a rating of 89 percent). Upon its debut, EW writer Leah Greenblatt served up some criticism but ultimately gave it a B+, gushing that it toes the "unlikely line between David Lynch and Desperate Housewives... then literally eats that toe, which is pretty fun." Fun indeed, and well worth tasting. 10 of 11 2. iZombie (2015–2019) Rahul Kohli as Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti and Rose McIver as Olivia. Cate Cameron/The CW The CW is sometimes teased for being over the top, but there's no denying the network's success in sci-fi playgrounds. With plenty of vampire and witch shows already under its belt, it dug into the zombie subgenre with iZombie. It struck gold by blending a zombie plague with wunderkind girl detective à la Veronica Mars, as EW's Jeff Jensen referenced in his review of the show's debut. iZombie followed the story of a medical resident, Olivia Moore (Rose McIver), whose life was half-ended when she got bitten by a zombie. After she turned, she dumped her fiancé and took a job at a morgue to keep him safe and keep herself fed (with brains of the dead!). Wild twist: eating brains of corpses gave her the person's memories. What does one do with all of this new insight? Fortunately, Olivia did some good with this new power of sorts by helping a police officer solve crimes. In the process, she found herself re-energized for her half-life. The show was a quiet hit, lasting five seasons, earning a 92 percent Tomatometer score, third-place (with Santa Clarita Diet) IMDb rating of 7.8/10, and a fourth-place Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 69 percent. Jensen gave it a B+ and showered it in praise, including for its actors. Jensen wrote that iZombie's "diverse elements work together to nourish an allegory for re-humanization in dehumanizing times." Ultimately, while it may not have cured the real world, iZombie offered a great escape. 11 of 11 1. The Last of Us (2023–present) The Bloater arrives in 'The Last of Us' season 1, episode 5. HBO Based on the widely acclaimed 2013 video game of the same name, The Last of Us centers on a postapocalyptic world overrun with infected humans. The series is set 20 years into a worldwide pandemic, as grizzled survivor Joel (Pedro Pascal) journeys across a devastated United States with Ellie (Bella Ramsey), an immune 14-year-old girl, in the hope that she could help to create a long-needed vaccine. What separates The Last of Us from other zombie shows is its focus on the human cost of living through hell, serving more as a character study than a traditional "people vs. zombies" action series. The series has high ratings across the board, with 96 percent on the Tomatometer and an audience score of 89 percent, plus an impressive 8.8/10 on IMDb. While EW's initial review was mixed, calling it "less sensitive than sentimental," the series has clearly resonated with audiences. —Kevin Jacobsen Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Related content: Norman Reedus says his Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon spin-off series is a 'reset' Kim Dickens on her 'fiery and explosive' return to Fear the Walking Dead Timothy Olyphant compares the 'f---ing crazy' Santa Clarita Diet to ALF