Why are shows like "The Walking Dead" and other zombie shows so popular?

I think it’s becaus of all the apocalypse news that has been going around recently. Everybody had heard of the world ending in 2012. Even though most didn’t believe it, it wasn’t unordinary to thin about what things would be like if it did. Some people truly believed that this would happen. These zombie shows were like a peek into the future.
Also, there always has to be a trend in the media. Before this, there was a vampire craze that got sparked by the Twilight Saga.

Armageddon really tired of these types of shows.

It’s a rush. Experiencing terror while sitting on the couch, safe and sound, drinking soda, munching chips while people on the screen get chased and eaten. I think most fans are not “tired of it all”. On the contrary, they want more. Fun. Thrills. Reminders that life is short and so we must enjoy it while we can.

I’m a big fan of the horror genre in general, and always have been…I can’t really explain why, but it’s nothing to do with Armageddon, that’s for sure. Being scared vicariously is just a thrill! I can’t speak for other shows, but The Walking Dead is very well done and that’s why I love it.

I’m with Auggie up on this. I love horror, so obviously, The Walking Dead is awesome to me. Can’t speak for other people.

But what I would like to point out is that the show has plot and character progression, it has drama and continuity. Such elements are things I believe many enjoy about TV shows. So, maybe it doesn’t even matter what it’s about. X Files was damn popular, and not everyone who watched it was a sifi fan, I’m willing to bet my hand off. no pun intended, Merle.

Zombies how, however, enjoyed a renewal. But judging from what I know of zombie entertainment, this isn’t anything really new. The genre gets brought out of the closet, is hailed, forgotten…then it comes back years later. In the thirties you had black and white zombie movie shit, then it came back in the sixties, and then in the eighties…and then in the 2000’s. Just a slight observation, nothing really legit, but eh. Maybe The Walking Dead is part of this strange entertainment cycle.

also, what other zombie shows are out there?

I would say zombie flicks speak to our basic instincts. You have a small band of people who form a tribe in a generally hostile environment, also encountering other tribes – sometimes they trade, sometimes they fight with each other. The zombies are like the savage, deadly animal world we were living in before we “civilised” most of it.

Another possibility is that some people yearn to get away from society’s norms and rules, to be a hero, or just to go on an adventure and not have to worry about money. A zombie outbreak gives you just that – you make the rules, every day, every move you make is an adventure in itself.

Finally, like @dxs, @augustlan, and @Symbeline said, it’s a rush. For some reason people like to get scared from time to time, in a controlled environment. And for a Zambah flick buff like myself, watching zombies on screen is a great opportunity to learn new survival skills for when the sh*t hits the fan (the zombies are coming people, live with it :P)

I think it’s about time a zombie musical was released…hire The Rolling Stones & Steve Tyler as head zombies.
I’d seriously be up for a big budget zombie sing-a-long though, show their softer side.

I like zombie movies but I was disappointed by the Walking Dead.

@ucme show their softer side.

You mean like, their soft, decomposing rib side where guts and blood and flesh give way when poked?

@Symbeline That sounded like you were getting turned on then!
Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.. ;¬}

Our human brains developed when we were hunters. Horror movies are the modern version of ancient hunting initiation rituals.