The Walking Dead (season 7)

The Walking Dead (season 7)
Promotional poster
Starring	Andrew Lincoln Norman Reedus Steven Yeun Lauren Cohan Chandler Riggs Danai Gurira Melissa McBride Michael Cudlitz Lennie James Sonequa Martin-Green Alanna Masterson Josh McDermitt Christian Serratos Jeffrey Dean Morgan Seth Gilliam Ross Marquand Austin Nichols Austin Amelio Tom Payne Xander Berkeley
Country of origin	United States
Release
Original network	AMC
Original release	October 23, 2016 – present

The seventh season of The Walking Dead, an American horror-drama television series on AMC, premiered on October 23, 2016, and will consist of 16 episodes that will be split into two eight-episode parts, with the second half debuting in February 2017.^[1] Developed for television by Frank Darabont, the series is based on the comic book series of the same name 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 fourth consecutive season. This season introduces notable comic character Ezekiel and his pet tiger Shiva, and new communities The Kingdom, Sanctuary, and Oceanside.^[2]

Cast

Official 2016 San Diego Comic-Con banner, featuring the main characters of the season, including (from left to right): Glenn, Rosita, Daryl, Michonne, Abraham, Maggie, Negan, Rick, Sasha, Aaron, Carl and Eugene. These are the characters left with unknown fates at the end of last season. This banner excludes Carol, Morgan, Tara, Gabriel, Spencer, Jesus, Dwight, and Gregory.

Main cast

Starring

• Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, the series' primary protagonist and the newly established leader of Alexandria, who is forced to submit and adapt under the rule of Negan.^[3]
• Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, the group's primary hunter and a recruiter for Alexandria, now a prisoner of the Saviors.^[3]
• Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee, Maggie's resourceful husband, who stands as the group's moral compass.^[3]
• Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene, Glenn's strong-willed and pregnant wife, who serves as a liaison between Alexandria and the Hilltop Colony.^[3]
• Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Rick's teenage son, who struggles to maintain his renewed morality that he achieved from residing in Alexandria.^[3]
• Danai Gurira as Michonne, a katana-wielding warrior who has opened up from her previous solitary life and has recently begun a relationship with Rick.^[3]
• Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, an empowered member of the group whose several tragedies force her to question her ruthless methods.^[3]
• Michael Cudlitz as Sgt. Abraham Ford, a former military sergeant, whose reevaluation of his life led him to break up with Rosita and pursue Sasha.^[3]
• Lennie James as Morgan Jones, the first survivor Rick had ever encountered, who is questioning the pacifist philosophy he had adapted.^[3]
• Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha Williams, a former firefighter, Abraham's girlfriend and a guard of Alexandria, who had overcome various traumas.^[3]
• Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler, a caring member of the group, who while on a supply run with Heath gets separated and meets a community of survivors known as Oceanside.^[3]
• Josh McDermitt as Eugene Porter, a survivor who struggles to prove his worth to the group after lying to them about knowing a possible cure to the walker virus.^[3]
• Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, a pragmatic and protective member of the group, and ex-girlfriend of Abraham.^[3]
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, the manipulative, totalitarian leader of the Saviors, and the primary antagonist of the season.^[3]

Also starring

• Seth Gilliam as Gabriel Stokes, a priest who has managed to earn the group's trust after previously betraying them.^[3]
• Ross Marquand as Aaron, an Alexandrian recruiter who brought Rick's group to Alexandria, and serves as a bridge between the two factions.^[3]
• Austin Nichols as Spencer Monroe, a guard of Alexandria and the only surviving member of his family.^[3]
• Austin Amelio as Dwight, a reluctant member of the Saviors, who forms a hostile rivalry with Daryl.^[3]
• Tom Payne as Paul "Jesus" Rovia, a scout for the Hilltop Colony who introduced Rick's group to their compound.^[3]
• Xander Berkeley as Gregory, the selfish and arrogant leader of the Hilltop Colony.^[3]

Supporting cast

Alexandria Safe Zone

• Katelyn Nacon as Enid, an isolated teenager residing in Alexandria who forms a special bond with Carl and Maggie.^[3]
• Jason Douglas as Tobin, the foreman of Alexandria's construction crew, who had a brief relationship with Carol.^[1]
• Corey Hawkins as Heath, a supply runner for Alexandria, who disappears after being separated from Tara.^[4]
• Ann Mahoney as Olivia, a resident of Alexandria in charge of the community's supplies.^[4]
• Kenric Green as Scott, a supply runner in Alexandria.
• Ted Huckabee as Bruce, a member of Alexandria's construction crew.
• Dahlia Legault as Francine, a member of Alexandria's construction crew.
• Jordan Woods-Robinson as Eric Raleigh, Aaron's boyfriend and his former recruiting partner.

Hilltop Colony

• R. Keith Harris as Harlan Carson, a doctor at the Hilltop Colony.

The Sanctuary

• Steven Ogg as Simon, Negan's right-hand man.^[5]
• Christine Evangelista as Sherry, Dwight's ex-wife.^[6]
• Jayson Smith Warner as Gavin, the leader of a small group of Saviors who extorts the Kingdom.
• Joshua Mikel as Jared, a member of The Saviors who works with Gavin's group.
• Elizabeth Ludlow as Arat, a member of The Saviors, who raids Alexandria for supplies, weapons, and furniture.
• Mike Seal as Gary, a member of The Saviors, who raids Alexandria for supplies, weapons, and furniture.
• Tim Parati as Dr. Emmett Carson, the doctor of The Saviors.
• Joshua Hoover as Joey, a member of The Saviors, who is ordered by Negan to watch Daryl.
• Martínez as David, a member of The Saviors who harasses Enid.
• Michael Scialabba as Gordon, a member of The Saviors and Dwight's friend.
• Lindsley Register as Laura, a member of The Saviors.

The Kingdom

• Khary Payton as King Ezekiel, the leader of the Kingdom.^[7]
• Logan Miller as Benjamin, a young member of The Kingdom who forms a bond with Morgan.
• Karl Makinen as Richard, a member of The Kingdom.
• Cooper Andrews as Jerry, a member of The Kingdom and Ezekiel's butler.
• Kerry Cahill as Dianne, a member of The Kingdom.

Oceanside

• Deborah May as Natania, the leader of Oceanside.
• Sydney Park as Cyndie, a member of Oceanside and Natania's granddaughter.
• Mimi Kirkland as Rachel, an aggressive young member of Oceanside.
• Briana Venskus as Beatrice, a member of Oceanside.
• Nicole Barré as Kathy, a member of Oceanside.

Production

The Walking Dead was renewed by AMC for a 16-episode seventh season on October 30, 2015.^[8] Filming for season 7 began on May 2, 2016, in Georgia.^[9] Actors Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Xander Berkeley, Tom Payne, and Austin Amelio were all promoted to series regulars for the seventh season, after having recurring roles in the sixth season.^[3] The seventh season has featured several extended episodes, running longer than its usual 43-minute running time (without commercials). Episodes one and two are 46 minutes, episode four is 60 minutes, episode six is 50 minutes, and episodes seven and eight will air in 90 and 85-minute time slots, respectively.^[10][11]

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
84	1	"The Day Will Come When You Won't Be"	Greg Nicotero	Scott M. Gimple	October 23, 2016	17.03[12]
Negan's victim is revealed to be Abraham, who is beaten to death in front of Rick's group. Daryl unsuccessfully attacks Negan out of anger, leading him to murder Glenn as well. Negan tests Rick's resolve by forcing him to hack off Carl's arm, but stops him once he sees Rick's eyes showing his broken spirit. Negan and his crew then leave with Daryl as hostage, while Sasha volunteers to take Maggie to the Hilltop, along with the bodies of Glenn and Abraham.
85	2	"The Well"	Greg Nicotero	Matthew Negrete	October 30, 2016	12.46[13]
Carol and Morgan arrive at the Kingdom: a well-established community run by flamboyant former zookeeper "King" Ezekiel. The Kingdom, like the Hilltop, has been producing for the Saviors under the threat of violence, although Ezekiel has kept this arrangement secret from most residents of the Kingdom. Carol recuperates and is eager to leave; she bonds with Ezekiel and he tries to convince her to stay, but she opts to stay in an abandoned house just outside the Kingdom.
86	3	"The Cell"	Alrick Riley	Angela Kang	November 6, 2016	11.72[14]
Daryl is locked in a dark cell at the Sanctuary, where Negan and Dwight torture him in an effort to break him down to obedience. Dwight is sent on a mission by Negan to retrieve an escaped Savior who says he would rather die than keep living in fear of Negan; he ultimately kills the man out of mercy when he submits to returning. Daryl is given two chances by Negan to become a Savior himself, but refuses both times; he is locked back inside the cell, admitting to Dwight that he can't submit to Negan because he is thinking about someone else.
87	4	"Service"	David Boyd	Corey Reed	November 13, 2016	11.40[15]
As the grieving survivors struggle to come to terms with life under Negan's rule, Negan and the Saviors arrive at Alexandria days ahead of schedule for their first offering; they take the majority of their furniture, medicine, and all of their firearms. Rick informs the survivors that he is no longer in charge and they must learn to live by Negan's terms. Rosita finds a shell casing and brings it to Eugene in order to craft bullets for a gun she found on a dead Savior in the woods.
88	5	"Go Getters"	Darnell Martin	Channing Powell	November 20, 2016	11.00[16]
Rick and Aaron leave Alexandria to scavenge supplies for Negan's next visit, while Carl accompanies Enid to the Hilltop to visit Maggie. Meanwhile, Maggie and Sasha recover at the Hilltop, where Gregory is furious with them for not fulfilling their deal of killing the Saviors and demands that they leave. After they help defend the community from a walker attack, Jesus convinces a reluctant Gregory to let them stay. The next day, the Saviors arrive and take half of the Hilltop's supplies. Sasha asks Jesus if he can find out where Negan lives, to which he agrees; he sneaks onto one of the Saviors' trucks, where he finds Carl hiding.
89	6	"Swear"	Michael E. Satrazemis	David Leslie Johnson	November 27, 2016	10.40[17]
Two weeks after the attack at the Saviors' satellite station outpost, Tara is separated from Heath after falling off a bridge during a walker attack. She washes up on a beach, where she is revived by a girl named Cyndie. She follows Cyndie to her community, Oceanside: a secluded group consisting of only women, girls, and young boys; adult males in the group were slaughtered by the Saviors. Cyndie helps Tara find her way back to Alexandria, and makes her swear to never mention Oceanside to anyone. Tara is met at Alexandria's gates by an emotional Eugene, where she learns of the events that occurred while she was away.
90	7	"Sing Me a Song"	Rosemary Rodriguez	Angela Kang & Corey Reed	December 4, 2016	TBD
Jesus jumps off the Saviors' truck to recon the area, but Carl stays behind and assaults the Saviors directly. Carl's ambush fails, but Negan instead offers to tour him around the Sanctuary, where he learns about Negan's rules and power over the Saviors. Negan attempts to bond with Carl, who repeatedly resists submission. Eventually, Negan decides to bring Carl personally home to Alexandria, while Jesus stays behind in the Sanctuary, and Daryl is given a key to escape. Meanwhile, Rick & Aaron and Spencer & Fr. Gabriel are out looking for supplies for Negan's next visit, with Spencer's resentment for Rick growing. Rosita & Eugene manage to create a bullet, while Michonne ambushes a Savior and orders her to bring her to Negan. After Fr. Gabriel leaves Spencer for complaining about Rick, Spencer manages to find supplies, and he, Rosita and Eugene arrive at Alexandria only for them to realize that Negan and the Saviors are already there.
91	8	"Hearts Still Beating"[18]	TBA	TBA	December 11, 2016	TBD

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a rating of 70% with an average score of 8.0 out of 10 based on 6 reviews.^[19]

The Walking Dead (season 7): Critical reception by episode

Season 7 (2016): Percentage of positive reviews tracked by the website Rotten Tomatoes[20]

Ratings

The Walking Dead's seventh season premiere received 17.03 million viewers in its initial broadcast on AMC in the United States. The viewership steadily declined every week after the premiere, with the sixth episode of the season dropping to 10.40 million viewers, the lowest rating the show has had since season three.^[21]

References

1. Schwartz, Terri (July 22, 2016). "Comic-Con 2016: The Walking Dead Reveals Season 7 Trailer, Premiere Date and Ezekiel". IGN. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
2. Snierson, Dan (July 22, 2016). "Comic-Con: Walking Dead season 7 trailer introduces Ezekiel and Shiva". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
3. Goldberg, Lesley (July 7, 2016). "'Walking Dead' Promotes 4 to Series Regular for Season 7 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
4. Wigler, Josh (July 22, 2016). "'Walking Dead': What the Comic-Con Trailer Reveals About Season 7". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
5. Wigler, Josh (October 8, 2016). "'The Walking Dead' at NYCC: A Bloody Comic Book Moment Is Teased in New Look at Season 7 Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
6. Magliocchetti, Geoff (July 23, 2016). "7 Takeaways from The Walking Dead's Season 7 Trailer". SportsGrid. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
7. Goldberg, Lesley (July 22, 2016). "Comic-Con: 'Walking Dead' Casts Kingdom Leader Ezekiel". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
8. Goldberg, Lesley (October 30, 2015). "'The Walking Dead' Renewed for Seventh Season". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
9. Burlingame, Russ (April 27, 2016). "The Walking Dead Season 7 Starts Filming On May 2". Comicbook.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
10. Davis, Brandon (November 24, 2016). "The Walking Dead Midseason Finale Episode Gets Extended Run Time". Comicbook.com. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
11. "The Walking Dead, Season 7". iTunes. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
12. Porter, Rick (October 25, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'The Walking Dead' premiere kills it with second-highest ratings ever". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
13. Porter, Rick (November 1, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'The Walking Dead' takes a bigger-than-usual hit in episode 2". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
14. Porter, Rick (November 8, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Walking Dead' down but stays on top, 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' returns lower". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
15. Porter, Rick (November 15, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Westworld' ticks up as 'Walking Dead' slips a little more". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
16. Porter, Rick (November 22, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'The Librarians' returns slightly lower, 'Walking Dead' dips a bit more". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
17. Porter, Rick (November 30, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'The Walking Dead' hits a 4-year low". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
18. "The Walking Dead: Episode Guide". Zap2it. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
19. "The Walking Dead: Season 7 (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
20. "The Walking Dead: Season 7". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
21. "The Walking Dead Suffers Another Huge Ratings Drop". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 1, 2016.

External links

• Official website
• List of The Walking Dead episodes at the Internet Movie Database
• List of The Walking Dead episodes at TV.com