Neha Patil (Editor)

The Walking Dead (season 6)

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Country of origin
  
United States

Original network
  
AMC

No. of episodes
  
16

Starring
  
Andrew Lincoln Norman Reedus Steven Yeun Lauren Cohan Chandler Riggs Danai Gurira Melissa McBride Michael Cudlitz Lennie James Sonequa Martin-Green Josh McDermitt Christian Serratos Alanna Masterson Seth Gilliam Alexandra Breckenridge Ross Marquand Austin Nichols Tovah Feldshuh

Original release
  
October 11, 2015 (2015-10-11) – April 3, 2016 (2016-04-03)

The sixth season of The Walking Dead, an American horror-drama television series on AMC, premiered on October 11, 2015, and concluded on April 3, 2016, consisting of 16 episodes. Developed for television by Frank Darabont, the series is based on the eponymous series of comic books by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The executive producers are Kirkman, David Alpert, Scott M. Gimple, Greg Nicotero, Tom Luse, and Gale Anne Hurd, with Gimple as showrunner for the third consecutive season.

Contents

This season adapts material from issues #78–100 of the comic book series and introduces notable comic characters, including Heath, Dr. Denise Cloyd, Dwight, Paul "Jesus" Rovia, Gregory and Negan. The first half of the season focuses on Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group, still having trouble assimilating into the Alexandria Safe-Zone, leading the community through a series of crises, including the threat of a large herd of walkers and an attack by dangerous scavengers known as the Wolves. The second half of the season focuses on Rick and his companions discovering more survivor communities, making allies of the agrarian Hilltop Colony, and adversaries of the Saviors led by their ruthless leader named Negan.

Starring

  • Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, the series' protagonist, who struggles to balance his brutality and his humanity and create a stable life for his two children.
  • Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, the group's primary hunter, and a recruiter for Alexandria.
  • Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee, Maggie's courageous and supportive husband, and one of the original members of the group, known for his resourcefulness and strategic mind.
  • Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene, Glenn's strong-willed and determined wife, who is now the last surviving member of her family after the deaths of her father, Hershel, and sister, Beth.
  • Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Rick's teenage son, who struggles with growing up in a post-apocalyptic world.
  • Danai Gurira as Michonne, a fearless, katana-wielding warrior, who lost her family.
  • Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, a former victim of domestic abuse, who, following her daughter's death, becomes an empowered, ruthlessly pragmatic survivor.
  • Michael Cudlitz as Sgt. Abraham Ford, a former military sergeant and boyfriend of Rosita, who has some interest in Sasha.
  • Lennie James as Morgan Jones, the first survivor Rick encountered in season one, who has finally come to peace with the world around him.
  • Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha Williams, a former firefighter, who suffered from PTSD after the loss of her brother Tyreese and boyfriend Bob Stookey.

    • Also starring

  • Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter, a survivor rescued by Abraham and posed as a scientist, who could cure the walker virus.
  • Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, a pragmatic optimist, who is protective of those around her and girlfriend of Abraham.
  • Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler, a former ally of the Governor and the only surviving member of her family.
  • Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel Stokes, a priest, who lived alone in his church at the beginning of the outbreak and now seeks to redeem himself for his actions in the previous season.
  • Alexandra Breckenridge as Jessie Anderson, an Alexandria resident, who spent years living with an abusive husband, Pete.
  • Ross Marquand as Aaron, an Alexandrian recruiter, who brought Rick's group to Alexandria.
  • Austin Nichols as Spencer Monroe, Deanna's only living son and a guard of Alexandria.
  • Tovah Feldshuh as Deanna Monroe, a former congresswoman and the leader of Alexandria, who recently lost her husband and her son, and turns to Rick to help guide the community.

    • Alexandria Safe-Zone

  • Merritt Wever as Dr. Denise Cloyd, a doctor stationed in Alexandria and Tara's love interest.
  • Corey Hawkins as Heath, a supply runner in Alexandria.
  • Jason Douglas as Tobin, the foreman of Alexandria's construction crew.
  • Austin Abrams as Ron Anderson, Jessie's oldest son, who resents Rick for the execution of his abusive father.
  • Major Dodson as Sam Anderson, Jessie's younger son, who forms an attachment with Carol.
  • Katelyn Nacon as Enid, a teenager, who recently moved to Alexandria after surviving outside in the apocalypse for several months after her parents died and has formed a bond with Carl.
  • Ann Mahoney as Olivia, an Alexandria resident, who is in charge of the community's food and weapons.
  • Kenric Green as Scott, a supply runner in Alexandria.
  • Beth Keener as Annie, a supply runner in Alexandria.
  • Ted Huckabee as Bruce, a member of Alexandria's construction crew.
  • Jay Huguley as David, a resident of Alexandria, who volunteers for Rick's walker diversion plan.
  • Dahlia Legault as Francine, a member of Alexandria's construction crew.
  • Michael Traynor as Nicholas, originally a conniving, arrogant, and cowardly Alexandrian resident, who later tries to redeem himself for his past actions.
  • Jordan Woods-Robinson as Eric Raleigh, Aaron's boyfriend and his former recruiting partner.
  • Ethan Embry as Carter, a resident of Alexandria, who questions Rick's judgement.

    • Hilltop Colony

  • Tom Payne as Paul "Jesus" Rovia, a member and scout for the Hilltop Colony.
  • Xander Berkeley as Gregory, the leader of the Hilltop Colony.
  • R. Keith Harris as Dr. Harlan Carson, a doctor at the Hilltop Colony.
  • Karen Ceesay as Bertie, a resident of the Hilltop Colony.
  • Jeremy Palko as Andy, a resident at the Hilltop Colony.
  • Kimberly Leemans as Crystal, a resident at the Hilltop Colony.
  • Justin Kucsulain as Ethan, a resident at the Hilltop Colony, whose brother was captured by Negan.

    • The Saviors

  • Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, the mysterious psychopathic and manipulative leader of a group called the Saviors that he rules in tyranny and the unseen primary antagonist of the second half of the season.
  • Steven Ogg as Lead Savior, Negan's right hand man.
  • Austin Amelio as Dwight, a member of the Saviors, who kidnaps Daryl and forms a violent hostile rivalry with him. He is initially known as "D" to Daryl.
  • Christine Evangelista as Sherry, a former babysitter and Dwight's wife.
  • Liz E. Morgan as Tina, Sherry's diabetic sister.
  • Alicia Witt as Paula, a member of Negan's group, the Saviors. A formerly submissive woman, who lost her family and became an unrepentant killer, she is a counterpart to Carol.
  • Jeananne Goossen as Michelle, a member of Paula's group and counterpart to Maggie.
  • Jill Jane Clements as Molly, an elderly member of Paula's group.
  • Rus Blackwell as Donnie, an abusive member of Paula's group.
  • Jimmy Gonzales as Primo, a Savior captured by Rick's group.
  • Christopher Berry as a leading member of a motorcycle gang of the Saviors. While the character is not specifically named, Berry personally named him Bud.
  • Rich Ceraulo as Jiro, a member of Roman's group.
  • Stuart Greer as Roman, a Savior, who hunts Carol.

    • Miscellaneous

  • Benedict Samuel as the unnamed leader of the Wolves. Showrunner Scott M. Gimple revealed that "Owen" is one of possible names for the character.
  • John Carroll Lynch as Eastman, a survivor, who rehabilitates Morgan and teaches him aikido.

    • Production

    On October 7, 2014, AMC renewed The Walking Dead for a sixth season. Scott M. Gimple revealed that the sixth season would continue to remix material from the comic and explained that there would be a flashback backstory to some of the characters:

    "There are other people that we're going to see throughout the season from the comics, and I'm excited for people to see it, but I don't want to tell them now. I think a few minor remixes, but some direct stuff from the comic as well, as far as these characters go.

    I think there's a really cool aspect to the first half of the season that serves almost as a prequel to some direct comic stuff in the second half of the season. I think there's a way that Robert did some of the story that we're reaching that had a real past to it, where people are referring to some things in the past in the comic. And we're able to portray some of that backstory in some ways that you didn't get to see in the comic."

    Filming

    Filming for the season began in Senoia, Georgia, in early May 2015 and concluded on November 17, 2015. The season contains three extended episodes, airing in expanded 90-minute time slots, the season premiere, the fourth episode and the season finale.

    Casting

    Three new actors were cast to portray new characters in the sixth season, including Corey Hawkins as Heath, a prominent and long running comic book character who is a supply runner and loyal friend to Glenn Rhee. Merritt Wever joined the cast in the role of comic book character Dr. Denise Cloyd, while Ethan Embry also joined the cast. In September 2015, Xander Berkeley was announced in an unknown recurring role that would debut during the second half of the season, and Berkeley has an option for series regular for the seventh season. In January 2016, Berkeley's role was confirmed to be Gregory, a character from the comics. Tom Payne joins the cast as Hilltop Colony recruiter, Paul Monroe. On November 10, 2015, it was announced that Jeffrey Dean Morgan had been cast as Negan.

    Alanna Masterson who portrays Tara Chambler took maternity leave from the season in the episode "Not Tomorrow Yet" as she was nine months pregnant during the time of filming the episode. She is absent from the final four episodes, and it is explained through her character going on a two-week supply run.

    Critical response

    Overall, the season received positive reviews. On Metacritic, the first few episodes hold a score of 79 out of 100 based on 10 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first few episodes have a rating of 78% with an average score of 7.4 out of 10 based on 23 reviews, with a critical consensus of, "Six seasons in, The Walking Dead is still finding ways to top itself, despite slow patches that do little to advance the plot." Matt Fowler for IGN gave a 6.8/10 rating for the season as a whole. In summary, he said: "Walking Dead's Season 6 had some big effective moments while also crumbling under an avalanche of fake outs & trickery." He praised the Morgan flashback episode "Here's Not Here." Carol's arc and the "string of great, violent episodes in the [second half of the season]." His major criticisms of the season were "Glenn's 'death' - and other cheap fake outs/unnecessary cliffhangers" and "Characters clumsily steered into making dumb choices."

    Glenn's fake death in the third episode "Thank You" was a major source of controversy. The Hollywood Reporter heavily criticized the decision of the writers to create the story line. Daniel Fienberg felt apathetic about the decision and said, "I'm not sure I care about [...] the way his death would impact the ensemble. If he's dead, the loss will be felt most by Maggie, but Maggie just had her sister die a few episodes ago, so there's no variation anymore to making Lauren Cohan wail, no matter how entirely convincingly she does it. To me, The Walking Dead has lost whatever core of human relationships it ever had, and whether Glenn lives or dies, it just feels mechanical now." Tim Goodman expressed shock over the concept of Glenn potentially being alive saying, "I honestly don't think showrunner Scott M. Gimple is dumb enough to fake this death somehow, not with how implausible it would be for Glenn to survive it." The Hollywood Reporter later declared that the show had "lost its credibility" when Glenn was revealed to be alive in the episode, "Heads Up." Scott Gimple responded to the controversy surrounding this. He said, "We've had instances of people in a very emotional state — Tyreese jumping into the middle of a large herd and fighting his way out; a man cut off his own hand and fights his way through a department store full of walkers. These things are part of the world. Glenn had the bad luck of being knocked off that dumpster by Nicholas, ending his own life but [Glenn] had the good luck of Nicholas landing on him. There's a lot of very specific facts about it that I think a lot of people have sort of gotten wrong. But breaking it down shot for shot … I think we're past that point. I don't think this is any sort of new instance that broke the rules of our show at all. I think it's very much in line with everything we've done before. I don't think there's a credibility issue." Erik Kain for Forbes felt that the decision ruined Glenn's storyline. He declared season 6 "a mixed bag" and was frustrated with the decision to hold off Glenn's fate for 3 episodes. He said, "...the showrunners spent three more episodes essentially refusing to move the plot forward. We got one good backstory, and then two episodes where almost nothing happened to anyone we cared about. We learned that Maggie was pregnant and that's about all." When speaking of the confirmation of Glenn being alive, Kain felt the decision was "implausible" from the inconsistency of his fall and camera angle tricks. He also felt the decision to "[drag] it out for weeks" had "effectively [killed] off all the tension [...] at the end of episode 3." Brian Moylan of The Guardian was also critical, saying: "Glenn is alive, and The Walking Dead will never be the same.... It would rather kill off a main character than pull a lame switcheroo. Until now."

    While the first half of the season received heavy criticism, many of the episodes in the second half were critically acclaimed. The episode "No Way Out," which resolved all previous cliffhangers was widely acclaimed. "The Next World" received highly positive reviews for its lighter tone and the romance between protagonist Rick Grimes and Michonne by fans and critics alike, notably The Guardian and The A.V. Club. Subsequent episodes received praise, notably the episode "Not Tomorrow Yet." "The Same Boat" was lauded for its "strong female focus." Jeremy Egner of The New York Times commented positively on Carol's character development. He adulated the complexity of Carol's division between ruse and real emotion, saying "Like always, Carol did whatever necessary to survive and protect her cohorts, and did so in particularly brutal fashion [...] but she seems increasingly unable to avoid reckoning with the toll. "Are you O.K.?" Daryl asked when he arrived. "No," she responded, and that was before Rick executed the remaining Savior right in front of her. It's going to take more than a few Hail Marys to make that image, among many others, go away."

    The finale received largely mixed to negative reviews, with many criticizing the cliffhanger. It sparked backlash on social media from fans and critics alike. While Jeffrey Dean Morgan's performance as Negan was praised, the episode was mostly criticized for its cliffhanger ending. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 47% rating with an average score of 6.9 out of 10 with the critical consensus: "Despite Jeffrey Dean Morgan's deliciously evil turn as Negan, the meandering "Last Day on Earth" — and its manipulative cliffhanger ending — make for a disappointing season finale." Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C, the lowest grade given by the site for the show to date, and commented, "The problem is almost everything else. We'll get to Negan and that so-idiotic-it's-actually-kind-of-hilarious cliffhanger in a second, but before we do, let's unpack the many ways 'Last Day On Earth' went wrong. Even the title is bad—not on its own." Todd VanDerWerff of Vox gave the episode a negative review, calling it the worst episode of the show so far, and commenting, "The extra-long episode spent its first hour dramatizing all the excitement of your GPS insisting that you take a road you already know is closed, and the last half-hour sank some nicely spooky moments with a too-long monologue and a completely botched cliffhanger." However, he gave a positive review on Negan's introduction.

    Ratings

    The Walking Dead's sixth season premiere received 14.63 million viewers in its initial broadcast on AMC in the United States. The viewership slightly declined from the previous season's record breaking premiere, "No Sanctuary" and the fourth season premiere "30 Days Without an Accident," but was the most watched television series of the night. The season finale received a 6.9 rating in the key 18-49 demographic with 14.19 million total viewers. This was a significant increase from the previous episode "East," which received a 5.9 rating and 12.38 million total, but also significantly lower than the ratings for the season 5 finale, which was watched by 15.78 million American viewers with an 18-49 rating of 8.2.

    ^1 Live +7 ratings were not available, so Live +3 ratings have been used instead.

    Accolades

    For the 42nd Saturn Awards, the season received seven nominations and three wins. Wins included: Best Horror Television Series, Best Supporting Actress on Television (Danai Gurira), and Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series (Chandler Riggs). Nominations included: Best Actor on Television (Andrew Lincoln), Best Supporting Actress on Television (Tovah Feldshuh and Melissa McBride), and Best Guest Starring Role on Television (John Carroll Lynch).

    Home media release

    The sixth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 23, 2016.

    References

    The Walking Dead (season 6) Wikipedia
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