'Walking Dead' stronger than ever for fifth season

The onslaught of a herd of flesh-eating zombies is nothing compared with the way the AMC drama "The Walking Dead" has ravished its competition. It's not only the most highly rated series in the history of cable, it's the top-rated program on all TV for the past two years with the coveted 18-49 age demographic.

The fifth season of the series, which is based on the Robert Kirkman comic books, opens Sunday night with such high expectations, AMC has already ordered a sixth season. This goes along with enough merchandise to fill a "Dead"-head's home.

Previews show this season will have the group on a new mission to help find a cure for the zombie apocalypse. When a show has this much success, there's plenty of room for distractions.

Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd says filming the series in the remote areas of Georgia has helped cast and crew remain focused.

"We make sure that we remain in a bubble," Hurd says. "Part of that comes from filming on location and the other part is from writing the scripts such a long time before the episodes air, that we are done with most of the shows before anyone sees the first one. This is one way to remain true to the comic that was the inspiration for the series and to the characters and world we have brought to life."

"The Walking Dead" has become a monster hit despite early concerns that fans of the original Kirkman books would be disappointed in the TV adaptation. Some liberties were taken — the story parallels the comics but is fresh enough to entertain those who knew the tales by heart.

Hurd recalls taking the series to San Diego Comic Con the first time.

"The first time you go to Comic Con with something new that the fans care so deeply about, they're nervous. They want to love it, but they're very, very afraid that maybe we screwed it up," Hurd says. "People explode into applause. They literally went, 'Ahh, thank goodness. Thank goodness they haven't screwed this up.' "

Cast and crew continue to get it right, as shown through the growing ratings numbers. Each episode of season four averaged more than 13 million viewers.

The show has been so successful, AMC ordered a pilot episode of a companion series that will look at what's happening in other corners of this zombie-filled world.

"Obviously, we all take our stewardship of the original franchise incredibly seriously and we are all proceeding with extreme care in order to ensure that we are offering fans something truly compelling, engaging and distinct," says Charlie Collier, AMC president.

Until that spinoff launches, "Dead" fans will have the continuing story of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun), Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs), Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) and the other survivors.

Season four ended with several of the group trapped in a railroad car at a facility known as Terminus. Past seasons have featured the group taking sanctuary in a prison, and at other times on the open road. This year will provide a little of both.

McBride isn't worried about ratings, bobble-head dolls, comic conventions or any of the other outside forces. She concentrates on doing her best work, a trait she shares with other cast members. What she's seen from the start is that this is a group of actors with a strong work ethic.

"The popularity has grown but there hasn't been any change as far as the actors are concerned. The budgets are different so we can do bigger and better things. But we are still concerned about the small things. As long as we do that, the show will naturally top itself," McBride says.

Television is a world where familiar faces are often cast to lure viewers to the first episode. That was not the case with "The Walking Dead." The best known member of the original cast was Lincoln, who had a small role in "Love Actually." McBride was working more as a casting director in Atlanta than as an actor when she was selected to be on the series.

McBride has helped distinguish "Dead"as more than just a story about killing zombies. The fourth season episode "The Grove" gave McBride the opportunity to be part of a storyline so emotionally powerful and moving, critics consider it one of the best TV episodes ever made.

It's that kind of critical response that still frustrates cast and crew about people who dismiss "The Walking Dead" — without ever seeing an episode — as a horror genre they never watch.

Hurd and company have said it countless times: They aren't making a zombie show.

"We are making a show that is set in a real world and we try to ground the show in every way possible," Hurd says. "It's stories about people you have come to love and care about."

SHOW INFO

"The Walking Dead": 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12, on AMC

Contact Rick Bentley: rbentley@fresnobee.com, (559) 441-6355 or @RickBentley1 on Twitter.