AMC Will Re-Air The Walking Dead Seasons 1 & 2 In Black & White
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Last July, AMC saw high ratings when they aired the pilot episode of The Walking Dead in glorious black & white. Now the cable network is looking to do the same thing with seasons one and two of the post-apocalyptic zombie series.
Starting in February, AMC will air black & white versions of The Walking Dead. Of course, the original graphic novel is completely in black & white (with full-color covers), so it’s only appropriate that the TV series will tip its hat to its origins. This will give The Walking Dead a classic “Night of the Living Dead” aesthetic, adding the series’ tension and horror. Showrunner Glen Mazzara confirmed AMC’s plans to re-air the first two seasons of The Walking Dead via his personal Twitter account. He also attached a photo of a page from the upcoming issue of the comic book which references the black-and-white episodes. Check out the Twitter photo below.
This is not only a nod to comic creator Robert Kirkman, but also to The Walking Dead‘s original showrunner, Frank Darabont. In 2008, a black-and-white version of Darabont’s 2007 horror film, The Mist, was a bonus feature on the film’s Blu-ray/DVD release. This also gave The Mist a classic horror tone and hearkened back to monster movies of the 1950s.
It’s good to see The Walking Dead embracing its comic book roots by re-airing black-and-white versions of the series’ first 18 episodes. It’s also a good opportunity to re-run AMC’s highest-rated TV series during the doldrums of the winter TV season. It’s unclear if AMC will re-air the black-and-white episodes weekly or in a marathon.
The Walking Dead will return to continue season three on February 10, 2013, with episode nine: “The Suicide King.”
