AMC has a massive ratings hit on their hands.

It's definitely well deserved.  The show itself is uncomfortable and bleak, just like you expect life in the zombie apocalypse to be.  It takes its subject matter seriously, unlike so many of its campy brethren.  That provides plenty of real opportunities for drama.

If I had to be critical of the show, it's that some character behavior is done clearly for dramatic purposes.   The protagonist wakes up and stumbles around in the apocalypse without shoes for 15 minutes.  Strange as it seems, that was what made me uncomfortable.  Not the fact that there were zombies locked behind a door.  Just the fact that walking around had to mean he would be stepping on glass and that he would be running really slowly if he actually did encounter a zombie.

Rick (the sheriff protagonist) must have feet of leather.  If I woke up in a hospital full of debris, you can be damn sure the first thing I would be doing is stealing someone's shoes.

More importantly, however, there are points where you wonder why the protagonist doesn't just come out and ask what the hell is going on.   That's all I would be doing every time I met someone.  Try to figure out what's going on.

Instead, everything is treated like one long reveal … as if there is a path of discovery and the characters need to not ask questions so that we'll have a steady dose of new information each episode.  I'm not a script writer, but I feel like there has to be a better way.

Regardless, I'm addicted.  I'm surprised that the season is only 6 episodes, however.  This must have been either a real financial commitment or considered a risky development if they had to limit the season length to something that short.

Right now I'm saving the last 3 episodes to marathon them in one go next week with some friends.  I figure that's as close as we'll get to a real "zombie night" around here!