Why Z Nation Has Replaced The Walking Dead as Our Favorite Zombie TV Show

Look, I have all the respect in the world for shows that attempt to keep as much realism as possible. But, while that might work for a short while, realism does eventually create limitations.

One of the things that made us fans of Z Nation, is the show hasn't tied an anchor to itself and has realized, if a zombie apocalypse is possible, so is everything else. This has allowed the series to take things up a notch, whether it is having half the country destroyed by nuclear weapons or having an episode about alien abductions and cool Men-in-Black-like weapons.

Zombie movies and TV shows are supposed to be fun. But, at the same time, when people are constantly dying, it is very easy for a show to become more depressing than entertaining. 

One thing my wife and I love about Z Nation is the way it finds ways to use humor to keep things from reaching a point where the show becomes too depressing. This includes things like Z-weed (marijuana grown using zombie compost) and even zombie-killing wheels of cheese.

One of my biggest complaints about The Walking Dead is you never see the heroes go anywhere new. For all they know, the zombie apocalypse could only be affecting the southern part of the country. Yet, they insist on staying in the same general area and only moving when they are forced to.

Z Nation, in comparison, consists of the heroes traveling to California and visiting a variety of states along the way. The change of scenery gives them more flexibility with new characters and storylines.

I'm a big fan of the classic television series, M*A*S*H, One of my biggest complaints about that series is, at times, it forgot it had a talented ensemble cast and would focus way too much attention on Hawkeye (Alan Alda). The Walking Dead is very similar to that and often puts too much emphasis on Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and forces other, much-more-interesting characters to the background.

So far, we haven't seen that with Z Nation. The series manages to use all its stars almost equally. This, again, allows for more flexibility with stories and, by not elevating one star above the others, allows for main characters to be killed off at any time.

Another huge pet peeve of ours when it comes to The Walking Dead is the way the show seems to put too much emphasis on the human interaction and conflict. I'm not saying that isn't important. But, there are times when it feels as though the series forgets about the zombie apocalypse completely.

Again, that is not the case with Z Nation. The show still has the human interaction and conflicts. But, the zombie threat always remains the main focus, with the un-dead creatures amassing in army-like numbers and the zombie virus even affecting animals.

The Walking Dead hasn't reached the point where I consider it a terrible show and, eventually, we will take the time to watch the episode we recorded last night. However, after discovering Z Nation, I do feel The Walking Dead is only the second-best zombie show on TV today.