The Walking Dead: Every Season Ranked Worst To Best

Despite some brief hiccups, season three is where The Walking Dead as we know it was born, filling the screen with its most electric drama, action and intense stakes yet. With Shane gone, the season heralded a new, more confident era for the show.

Opening with the group at their lowest and forced to take refuge in an abandoned prison, the season finds Rick and his found family searching for a new home, desperate to reclaim some kind of life in a world far beyond saving, whilst newcomer The Governor threatens their future.

Bracingly well-paced and effectively balancing its characters' arcs, season three struggles through the death of Lori Grimes, which throws Rick into a melodramatic and overlong spiral of cartoonish grief, but it soars with its ability to finally prove their biggest threat is man rather than the dead.

From the introduction of Michonne and the expanded roles of fan favourites Daryl, Glenn and Maggie, The Walking Dead's third year is an affecting portrayal of family and perseverance that cemented the show as a modern classic.