The Walking Dead season 5

Cast

The fifth season of the show has seventeen regular cast members. Ten of them get their names in the opening credits, while the other seven are listed as "Also starring." Michael Cudlitz, who plays Sgt. Abraham Ford, moves up from a recurring role in the previous season to the main opening credits, joining Emily Kinney (Beth Greene) and Chad L. Coleman (Tyreese Williams), who were previously in the "Also starring" category. The "Also starring" group includes Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Alanna Masterson, and Andrew J. West, all promoted from recurring roles, plus newcomer Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel Stokes.

After episode nine, Kinney and Coleman’s names vanish from the opening credits, but they reappear in episode thirteen for a short flashback. Andrew Lincoln is Rick Grimes, the main character, who has just gotten past a tough internal battle between being brutal and staying human. Lincoln also voices a radio broadcaster in his natural accent during the episode "What Happened and What's Going On." Norman Reedus plays Daryl Dixon, the group’s top hunter, who has moved past his own abuse issues.

Steven Yeun is Glenn Rhee, once a pizza delivery guy, now Maggie’s husband and a key supply runner. Lauren Cohan plays Maggie Greene, Glenn’s determined wife, who recently lost her father. Chandler Riggs is Carl Grimes, Rick’s teenage son, whose recklessness often clashes with his sense of right and wrong. Danai Gurira portrays Michonne, a tough survivor with a katana, who has healed from losing her son and boyfriend and grown close to the Grimes family.

Melissa McBride plays Carol Peletier, a resourceful former abuse victim trying to recover from several tragedies. Michael Cudlitz is Sgt. Abraham Ford, an ex-military man and Rosita’s boyfriend, on a mission to get Eugene to Washington, D.C., for a cure. Emily Kinney plays Beth Greene, Maggie’s kidnapped younger sister, who bonded with Daryl after the prison attack. Chad L. Coleman is Tyreese Williams, Sasha’s older brother, who is compassionate and moral but struggles with the group’s harsh survival choices and finds it hard to kill in self-defense.

Production

The series was renewed for a fifth season on October 29, 2013. Filming began on May 5, 2014, and finished on November 22, 2014. Scott M. Gimple continued as showrunner, a position he held since the fourth season. In January 2015, it was announced that Ross Marquand had been cast in a series regular role, to debut during the second half of the season.

It was believed Marquand would be playing Aaron, a prominent character from the comic book series. The character debuted in the tenth episode, "Them," and his role as Aaron was officially confirmed. This season also introduces prominent characters from the graphic novels, including Bruce, Eric, Nicholas, Olivia, and Tobin. The season finale aired in an expanded 90-minute time slot.

The titles of the final five episodes of the season ("Remember," "Forget," "Spend," "Try," and "Conquer"), which feature the characters in the Alexandria Safe-Zone, refer to William Faulkner's novel The Sound and the Fury, which Dale quotes from the first season episode "Vatos." Scott M. Gimple remarked that the television series would be following its source material more than ever in the fifth season, with exceptions including original characters such as Daryl Dixon, and deceased characters from the comics alive in the television series and vice versa.

The fifth season adapted material from the comic books "Volume 10: What We Become," "Volume 11: Fear the Hunters," "Volume 12: Life Among Them," and "Volume 13: Too Far Gone." The character of Beth Greene and her story arc have been largely made up for the television series.

Reception

The fifth season of The Walking Dead was widely praised by critics. On Metacritic, it scored 80 out of 100, meaning "generally favorable" reviews from 11 critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 90% approval rating, with an average score of 6.95 out of 10 from 374 reviews. The site's critical consensus described the season as delivering high-quality entertainment through a mix of fast-paced, violent action and meaningful character development that pleased long-time viewers.

Brian Lowry of Variety gave the season premiere a favorable review, noting that after a drawn-out journey to Terminus, the show opened its fifth season in an impressive way, offering suspense, justified violence, and genuine emotion. Starlee Kine of New York said the episode had cinematic qualities and called the scene "satisfying, sad, and fun". Many critics considered the fifth season a significant improvement over earlier ones. Emily VanDerWerff of Vox remarked that while it is unusual for a series to have its best season in its fifth year, it is even stranger for a show to make such a major leap so late in its run.

She commended the storytelling and overall concept, highlighting the action, themes, characters, more developed storylines, new anthology-style episodes focused on individual characters, and general enhancements to the material the series had always used.

Home media releases

The fifth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1/A on August 25, 2015. Special features include "Inside The Walking Dead" and "The Making of The Walking Dead" featurettes for every episode; eight other featurettes titled "Beth's Journey," "Bob's Journey," "Noah's Journey," "Tyreese's Journey," "A Day in the Life of Michael Cudlitz," "A Day in the Life of Josh McDermitt," and "Rotters in the Flesh"; deleted scenes; and audio commentaries with cast and crew. A special limited edition Blu-ray packaging set, featuring the "asphalt" walker, designed by Greg Nicotero and sculpted by McFarlane Toys, was released on December 1, 2015.