P2- The Walking Dead Genre, Comparisons and COMPETITORS

The Walking Dead falls into the action, thriller, horror and drama. Its post apocalyptic theme is more commonly seen in films rather than TV shows, which is why The Walking Dead is so popular. However, the sci-fi aspect can be found in a range of television programs and they can relate in some ways to my chosen series.

Supernatural:

Supernatural like The Walking Dead (TWD) fits into the horror, action and thriller genres and unlike TWD also has the fantasy genre. The popular show, which has ran from 2005 to the present, is like TWD in the aspect that the lead characters are 'hunters'. This style convention is practical of the idea of the show and it would be strange for either of these shows to not feature characters who want to fight and survive. Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors in TWD kill zombies, similarly brothers, Dean and Sam Winchester, hunt supernatural beings like monsters and demons. Another similar aspect between the two shows is the use of male family members taking the lead roles. TWD sees father and son duo, Rick and Carl, where as previously mentioned Supernatural follows two brothers and occasionally their father. The use of these close relationships adds a sense of security and even more a need for the characters in their respective shows to stay alive. Both shows deal heavily with death and show a lot of gruesome murders, hence the horror genre. In the UK both of these shows have a certificate of 15, however some episodes of TWD are certified as 18 due to explicit content. As well as this in both shows there is a lot of traveling around, Supernatural more so as the two brothers travel the country looking for demons to hunt where as TWD survivors travel around looking for shelter from the vicious creatures. Another key aspect which links the two shows is the need for answers. The Winchester brothers are looking for answers to the mysterious creature that killed their mother and TWD survivors are looking for the answer to the disease that has turned the nation into flesh eating zombies. 
(Source- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural_(U.S._TV_series) )

Dead Set:

Dead set is a British mini series that ran for only 1 season consisting of 5 episodes. It is very similar to The Walking Dead as both shows feature zombie outbreaks and follow a group of survivors. However, the idea of 'Dead Set' is that the main group of survivors had been competing in the popular show 'Big Brother' when the epidemic started, they are unaware that outside of the Big Brother house all of the fans of the show are either dead or undead until the show runner breaks into the only safe place around. Not before long they need to venture outside for supplies. This plot very much follows the conventions of a typical horror series like TWD, although it does have its own unique style with the introduction of comedy into the genres (the other two genres like TWD are drama and horror). This comedy is shown in the setting of Big Brother and would attract audiences of the original show, the mini series even includes the real presenter Davina McCall playing herself. Like TWD 'Dead Set' is certified as an 18 due to its gory, violent scenes and adult content. Another key similarity of the two shows is the broadcast date. Dead Set was created two years before TWD and ran consistently through five days starting on the 27th October, this means that the last episode of the mini series would be shown on Halloween. TWD broadcasted their pilot episode on Halloween 2010, this use of the holiday would garner a lot of publicity and interest as audiences would be in a horror mood. Dead Set was shown on E4 as the show it was modelled after (Big Brother) was created and shown on channel4. Dead set was nominated for four awards; BAFTA TV award (Best Drama Series), British Comedy award (Best Television Comedy Drama), Broadcasting Press Guild award (Best Multichannel program) and TV Quick Award (Best new Drama). All of these nominations were given in 2009 and none of them won.
(Source- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285482/)

Jericho:        

Jericho was discontinued after it's first season until fans demanded a second to finish the imaginative plot. The plot shows the aftermath of a nuclear explosion caused by several terrorist attacks, which have destroyed 23 cities in America, residents of a small Kansas town must come to terms with a new and very different reality as they wonder if they're the only ones left alive. The first season of Jericho consists of 23 episodes whilst the second season was much shorter with 7 official episodes and one alternative ending to the show. The pilot episode garnered the most viewers than any other in season 1 or 2 with 11.66 million viewers on it's initial air date September 20th, 2006. However, this number quickly declined, the season finale was met with only 7.72 million viewers and shockingly the second season had a high of 7.09 million, this was for the first episode of the second season and is lower than the least watched episode of the first season. When Jericho finished its TV run, Devil's due Publishing picked up the story and turned it into a comic book. This is similar to the Walking Dead as that show originated as a comic book which is still being made now. The comic was titled, 'Jericho Season 3: Civil War', it was published from November 2009 until June 2011. 

(Source- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jericho_episodes )