Zombie culture has always been a thing, but the emergence of The Walking Dead as a hit TV show in 2010 really helped cranked the interest in all things undead up to 11. The AMC drama has regularly been one of the highest-rated shows on television, even as it sometimes suffers through some highs and lows when it comes to quality. The show, based on Robert Kirkman’s comic series of the same name, is more than just a standard zombie thriller. It focuses more on the survivors of a deadly apocalypse, and how they manage to work together to survive (or not, in many cases).
Along the way, the various writers and directors have snuck a ton of clever Easter eggs into the show. You probably missed most of them on your first watch through, unless you happen to be an incredibly eagle-eyed viewer. For the rest of us more casual fans, here are 11 hidden references and secret tidbits from The Walking Dead that prove the people behind the show are way smarter than you might think.
12. Rick’s Home County
While The Walking Dead doesn’t exactly belong in the horror genre, there are plenty of moments that are both scary and/or gruesome. There is, however, a subtle nod to master horror novelist Stephen King in the series. Before main character Rick Grimes wakes up in a hospital bed to the frightening realization that society has gone into the crapper, he was a sheriff in Georgia’s fictional King County — as in Stephen King. The show has never been shy about using real-life locations, including places like Alexandria (a short distance from Washington, D.C.) or Terminus (the unofficial original name of the city of Atlanta). So making up a fictional county was definitely for the sole purpose of paying tribute to King.
Via AMC