<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Next → Season 2 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> List of The Walking Dead episodes </Td> </Tr> <P> The first season of The Walking Dead, an American post-apocalyptic horror television series on AMC, premiered on October 31, 2010, and concluded on December 5, 2010, consisting of 6 episodes . Developed for television by Frank Darabont, who wrote or co-wrote four of the season's six episodes and directed the pilot episode, "Days Gone Bye", the series is based on the eponymous series of comic books by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard . It was executive produced by Darabont, Kirkman, David Alpert, Charles H. Eglee, and Gale Anne Hurd, with Darabont assuming the role of showrunner . </P> <P> The season received very positive reviews by critics . It was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series--Drama at the 68th Golden Globe Awards and received nominations for the 63rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in several categories, winning Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie, or Special . The pilot episode received 5.35 million viewers, and the finale garnered six million viewers, including four million viewers among adults ages 18--49, making it the most viewed basic cable drama series at that time . Based on its reception, AMC renewed the series for a second season consisting of 13 episodes, which premiered on October 16, 2011 . </P>

When did the first season of the walking dead start