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The Walking Dead Trivia Quiz
The Walking Dead opens with sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes waking from a coma into a world overrun by "walkers." He sets out to find his family and becomes the reluctant leader of a band of survivors who fight not just the dead, but other desperate groups of the living.
Q1. On which date did The Walking Dead premiere?
Answer: 31 October 2010 (Halloween). AMC launched it in 120 countries in the same week. Days earlier, AMC and Fox staged a worldwide "zombie invasion" across 26 cities in 24 hours, starting in Taipei and Hong Kong and ending in Los Angeles for the US premiere.
Q2. Who co-created the comic book the show is based on?
Answer: Robert Kirkman. Kirkman created the comic with artists Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard and was an executive producer and writer on the show. The series broadly follows the comics but often moves a death to a different character, so readers cannot always predict what happens.
Q3. What is Negan's baseball bat called?
Answer: Lucille. In season seven, Rosita and Eugene make a bullet to kill Negan, but Lucille blocks it and Negan forces Eugene to join the Saviors. The season seven premiere, in which Negan kills Abraham and Glenn, matches events from issue 100 of the comic.
Q4. Why did Andrew Lincoln leave the show in season nine?
Answer: To spend more time with his family in the UK. Filming meant half of each year in the United States. Lincoln completed five episodes of season nine to close out Rick's story. Planned Rick Grimes films were later replaced by the miniseries The Ones Who Live, co-starring Danai Gurira.
Q5. Which major character was invented for the TV series and does not come from the comics?
Answer: Daryl Dixon. Producer Gale Anne Hurd said wholly new characters like Daryl keep the audience guessing. Norman Reedus earned about $9,500 an episode in season one; by season nine he had a deal reported at $350,000 an episode, and Daryl later got his own spin-off.
Q6. Who developed the series for television and directed the pilot?
Answer: Frank Darabont. AMC pre-ordered the whole series on the strength of the comic, the scripts and Darabont's involvement. He was fired as showrunner in July 2011, early in season two, and later sued AMC for breach of contract, eventually seeking over $280 million.
Q7. Where was most of the show filmed after season one?
Answer: Riverwood Studios near Senoia, Georgia. The roughly 120-acre site included an existing subdivision that became the Alexandria Safe-Zone, plus sets such as the Hilltop mansion. AMC bought the lot in 2017 for $8.25 million. Season one had been shot in Atlanta itself, which meant closing streets and parks.
Q8. Who composed the show's score?
Answer: Bear McCreary. Instead of a full theme song, McCreary used a short repeating string motif inspired by the title-sequence designs. He said the hook was that viewers start hearing it before the main title begins, so they know it is coming.
Q9. Who hosts the live aftershow Talking Dead?
Answer: Chris Hardwick. Talking Dead began on 16 October 2011, after an encore of the season two premiere, discussing each episode with fans, cast and producers. Hardwick also hosted The Walking Dead Holiday Special in December 2020.
Q10. Which premiere set a record as the highest-rated non-sports broadcast on US cable?
Answer: Season five. It drew 17.3 million viewers in 2014, overtaking High School Musical 2. From season three the show had the most 18 to 49 year-old viewers of any series on cable or broadcast TV, but ratings fell from season seven onwards.
Q11. Which actor was originally set to play Rick when the show was pitched to HBO?
Answer: Thomas Jane. Jane had starred in Darabont's 2007 film The Mist. A guest role was discussed in 2010, but it never happened after Darabont left the show. Andrew Lincoln played Rick from the pilot until season nine.
Q12. Five cast members had appeared together in which Frank Darabont film?
Answer: The Mist. Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Melissa McBride, Juan Pareja and Sam Witwer were all in the 2007 film. DeMunn, who plays Dale, had also been in Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and The Majestic.
Q13. What is the top level of zombie make-up, for featured walkers, called?
Answer: Hero. Greg Nicotero's team used three levels: Hero walkers are made over head to toe, Midground walkers get highlights and shadows, and Deep Background walkers often just wear masks. Every walker went through "zombie school" to learn how to move.
Q14. Where was the Kingdom filmed?
Answer: The former military base Fort McPherson. The base had been converted into studios for Tyler Perry. Woodbury, in season three, was filmed in downtown Senoia, and the prison's interior sets from season three were reused as the Saviors' Sanctuary in season seven.
Q15. Which Emmy did the pilot, "Days Gone Bye", win?
Answer: Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup. The pilot was also nominated for sound editing and visual effects. The show was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Drama Series and a Writers Guild award for Best New Series in its first year.
Q16. On what was the series shot until the end of season ten?
Answer: 16 mm film. The final 30 episodes switched to digital because of the COVID-19 pandemic, since digital involved fewer "touch points" than film. Greg Nicotero, also the lead make-up effects artist, was the main director, with 35 episodes by 2021.
Q17. In the show, Hershel is beheaded by the Governor. Which character suffers that fate in the comic?
Answer: Tyreese. The writers, with Kirkman, often transfer a comic death to a different TV character. Some TV characters, like Carol, far outlived their comic versions, while Sophia and Andrea, killed on TV, stayed alive much longer in the comics.
Q18. Who became showrunner after Frank Darabont was fired?
Answer: Glen Mazzara. Mazzara ran seasons two and three before leaving over a "difference of opinion" with AMC. Scott M. Gimple took over from season four and was later promoted to chief content officer for the whole franchise, with Angela Kang running the show from season nine.
Q19. What did Darabont claim AMC did to the per-episode budget in season two?
Answer: Cut it from $3.4 million to $3 million. In his deposition Darabont said AMC also kept Georgia's tax credit, effectively cutting the budget by 25 percent. His lawsuit argued AMC used an unfairly low license fee so the show would appear to run at a loss and he would never see profits.
Q20. Which app did producer Gale Anne Hurd bring in to make production almost paper-free?
Answer: Doddle. It sent interactive call sheets and other updates to phones and tablets. Hurd also pushed hybrid and electric vehicles, energy-saving bulbs, reused sets and less engine idling, and handed out refillable steel water bottles as crew gifts to cut plastic waste.
The Walking Dead quiz answers and explanations
Every question from the quiz above with its correct answer, the story behind it, and where the fact comes from.
-
On which date did The Walking Dead premiere?
Answer: 31 October 2010 (Halloween). AMC launched it in 120 countries in the same week. Days earlier, AMC and Fox staged a worldwide "zombie invasion" across 26 cities in 24 hours, starting in Taipei and Hong Kong and ending in Los Angeles for the US premiere.
-
Who co-created the comic book the show is based on?
Answer: Robert Kirkman. Kirkman created the comic with artists Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard and was an executive producer and writer on the show. The series broadly follows the comics but often moves a death to a different character, so readers cannot always predict what happens.
-
What is Negan's baseball bat called?
Answer: Lucille. In season seven, Rosita and Eugene make a bullet to kill Negan, but Lucille blocks it and Negan forces Eugene to join the Saviors. The season seven premiere, in which Negan kills Abraham and Glenn, matches events from issue 100 of the comic.
-
Why did Andrew Lincoln leave the show in season nine?
Answer: To spend more time with his family in the UK. Filming meant half of each year in the United States. Lincoln completed five episodes of season nine to close out Rick's story. Planned Rick Grimes films were later replaced by the miniseries The Ones Who Live, co-starring Danai Gurira.
-
Which major character was invented for the TV series and does not come from the comics?
Answer: Daryl Dixon. Producer Gale Anne Hurd said wholly new characters like Daryl keep the audience guessing. Norman Reedus earned about $9,500 an episode in season one; by season nine he had a deal reported at $350,000 an episode, and Daryl later got his own spin-off.
-
Who developed the series for television and directed the pilot?
Answer: Frank Darabont. AMC pre-ordered the whole series on the strength of the comic, the scripts and Darabont's involvement. He was fired as showrunner in July 2011, early in season two, and later sued AMC for breach of contract, eventually seeking over $280 million.
-
Where was most of the show filmed after season one?
Answer: Riverwood Studios near Senoia, Georgia. The roughly 120-acre site included an existing subdivision that became the Alexandria Safe-Zone, plus sets such as the Hilltop mansion. AMC bought the lot in 2017 for $8.25 million. Season one had been shot in Atlanta itself, which meant closing streets and parks.
-
Who composed the show's score?
Answer: Bear McCreary. Instead of a full theme song, McCreary used a short repeating string motif inspired by the title-sequence designs. He said the hook was that viewers start hearing it before the main title begins, so they know it is coming.
-
Who hosts the live aftershow Talking Dead?
Answer: Chris Hardwick. Talking Dead began on 16 October 2011, after an encore of the season two premiere, discussing each episode with fans, cast and producers. Hardwick also hosted The Walking Dead Holiday Special in December 2020.
-
Which premiere set a record as the highest-rated non-sports broadcast on US cable?
Answer: Season five. It drew 17.3 million viewers in 2014, overtaking High School Musical 2. From season three the show had the most 18 to 49 year-old viewers of any series on cable or broadcast TV, but ratings fell from season seven onwards.
-
Which actor was originally set to play Rick when the show was pitched to HBO?
Answer: Thomas Jane. Jane had starred in Darabont's 2007 film The Mist. A guest role was discussed in 2010, but it never happened after Darabont left the show. Andrew Lincoln played Rick from the pilot until season nine.
-
Five cast members had appeared together in which Frank Darabont film?
Answer: The Mist. Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Melissa McBride, Juan Pareja and Sam Witwer were all in the 2007 film. DeMunn, who plays Dale, had also been in Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and The Majestic.
-
What is the top level of zombie make-up, for featured walkers, called?
Answer: Hero. Greg Nicotero's team used three levels: Hero walkers are made over head to toe, Midground walkers get highlights and shadows, and Deep Background walkers often just wear masks. Every walker went through "zombie school" to learn how to move.
-
Where was the Kingdom filmed?
Answer: The former military base Fort McPherson. The base had been converted into studios for Tyler Perry. Woodbury, in season three, was filmed in downtown Senoia, and the prison's interior sets from season three were reused as the Saviors' Sanctuary in season seven.
-
Which Emmy did the pilot, "Days Gone Bye", win?
Answer: Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup. The pilot was also nominated for sound editing and visual effects. The show was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Drama Series and a Writers Guild award for Best New Series in its first year.
-
On what was the series shot until the end of season ten?
Answer: 16 mm film. The final 30 episodes switched to digital because of the COVID-19 pandemic, since digital involved fewer "touch points" than film. Greg Nicotero, also the lead make-up effects artist, was the main director, with 35 episodes by 2021.
-
In the show, Hershel is beheaded by the Governor. Which character suffers that fate in the comic?
Answer: Tyreese. The writers, with Kirkman, often transfer a comic death to a different TV character. Some TV characters, like Carol, far outlived their comic versions, while Sophia and Andrea, killed on TV, stayed alive much longer in the comics.
-
Who became showrunner after Frank Darabont was fired?
Answer: Glen Mazzara. Mazzara ran seasons two and three before leaving over a "difference of opinion" with AMC. Scott M. Gimple took over from season four and was later promoted to chief content officer for the whole franchise, with Angela Kang running the show from season nine.
-
What did Darabont claim AMC did to the per-episode budget in season two?
Answer: Cut it from $3.4 million to $3 million. In his deposition Darabont said AMC also kept Georgia's tax credit, effectively cutting the budget by 25 percent. His lawsuit argued AMC used an unfairly low license fee so the show would appear to run at a loss and he would never see profits.
-
Which app did producer Gale Anne Hurd bring in to make production almost paper-free?
Answer: Doddle. It sent interactive call sheets and other updates to phones and tablets. Hurd also pushed hybrid and electric vehicles, energy-saving bulbs, reused sets and less engine idling, and handed out refillable steel water bottles as crew gifts to cut plastic waste.
The Walking Dead by the numbers
- Seasons
- 11
- Episodes
- 177
- First aired
- 31 October 2010
- Last aired
- 20 November 2022
- Network
- AMC
- Record premiere (season 5)
- 17.3 million viewers
- Main studio
- Riverwood Studios, Senoia, Georgia
- Shot on
- 16 mm film (until season 10)
About the The Walking Dead quiz
The Walking Dead ran for eleven seasons and changed showrunners and lead actors several times, so there is a lot of history behind the screen. Its creator was fired after one season, it changed major story points from the comics, and it invented popular characters who were never in them. That background is what this quiz uses alongside the main story.
Questions cover the survivors — Rick's group, communities like Alexandria and the Hilltop, villains like the Governor and Negan, and the long, brutal fight to stay alive.
What this The Walking Dead quiz covers
The quiz moves from Rick waking up in hospital to the Commonwealth, but most questions go behind the scenes: Frank Darabont's connections and his firing, the real Georgia locations behind Alexandria and the Kingdom, how the walkers were made up, how the show changed the comics, the music and the records it set and lost. Each answer below explains the story behind it and links to the source.
How to play
Tap an answer to see the right one straight away, with the story behind it, and check your score at the end. Play Again resets the quiz.
The Walking Dead quiz — frequently asked questions
Do I need to have watched every season?
No. Most story questions concern the early seasons and the big changes, such as Rick's departure. The rest covers production.
Does it cover the comics?
A little. Two questions compare the show with Robert Kirkman's comic, and the explanations give the background.
Are the spin-offs included?
Only Talking Dead, the aftershow. Fear the Walking Dead and the later spin-offs are not covered.