Walking Dead/Season 3

"Fight the dead. Fear the living."

Season Three of The Walking Dead premiered on October 14th, 2012. It aired on AMC on Sunday evenings at 9:00 pm EST. As with season two, season three is broken up into two blocks of episodes. AMC ordered a total of sixteen episodes for the season (three more than season two), which is separated into two blocks of eight for the mid-season break.

Season three brings back original cast members Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Steven Yeun, Laurie Holden, Chandler Riggs and Norman Reedus in their respective roles as Rick Grimes, Lori Grimes, Glenn Rhee, Andrea, Carl Grimes and Daryl Dixon. Series regulars, Melissa McBride and Irone Singleton return as well, reprising their guest-star roles as Carol Peletier and T-Dog. Actresses Lauren Cohan and Danai Gurira, who play Maggie Greene, Michonne are now included in the opening credits as billed cast members. Season two's Scott Wilson and Emily Kinney are also credited as guest stars as Hershel Greene and Beth Greene. Season one actor Michael Rooker returns in the role of Merle Dixon and becomes a regular cast member with episode 3x3, "Walk With Me". Actor Lew Temple is also added to the supporting cast this season as the prisoner Axel. David Morrissey was brought on board for season three as the primary human antagonist, known only as the Governor. He was introduced in "Walk With Me". One of the primary settings of the show for this season is the West Georgia Correctional Facility.

Production

 * Glen Mazzara - Executive producer
 * David Alpert - Executive producer
 * Gale Anne Hurd - Executive producer
 * Robert Kirkman - Executive producer
 * Denise Huth - Co-executive producer
 * Greg Nicotero - Co-executive producer
 * Evan Reilly - Co-executive producer
 * Scott M. Gimple - Producer; Supervising producer
 * Tom Luse - Producer


 * Paul Gadd - Producer
 * Nichole Beattie - Producer
 * Sang Kyu Kim - Producer
 * Angela Kang - Producer
 * Jolly Dale - Co-producer
 * Kenneth Requa - Associate producer
 * Bear McCreary - Composer
 * Frank Darabont - Developer
 * Veronica A. Hampton - 1st assistant director

Directors

 * Billy Gierhart
 * Dan Attias
 * Dan Sackheim
 * David Boyd
 * Ernest R. Dickerson


 * Greg Nicotero
 * Guy Ferland
 * Lesli Linka Glatter
 * Seith Mann
 * Tricia Brock

Writers

 * Angela Kang
 * Evan Reilly
 * Frank Renzulli
 * Glen Mazzara


 * Nichole Beattie
 * Ryan C. Coleman
 * Sang Kyu Kim
 * Scott M. Gimple

Notes & Trivia

 * The tagline for this season is, "Fight the dead. Fear the living."


 * This is the first season of The Walking Dead that series showrunner Frank Darabont is not involved with. Darabont left the show at the beginning of season two. He is still given a "developed by..." credit however.


 * Denise M. Huth is made a co-executive producer on the show beginning with this season. She is credited in the series as Denise Huth.


 * Co-executive producer Evan T. Reilly is credited as Evan Reilly in this season.


 * Director Daniel Attias is credited as Dan Attias in this season.


 * Director Daniel Sackheim is credited as Dan Sackheim in this season.


 * Director Bill Gierhart is credited as Billy Gierhart in this season.


 * Season two Story editor Angela Kang becomes a producer on season three.


 * Sang Kyu Kim joins the crew of The Walking Dead as a producer this season.


 * Jolly Dale joins the crew of The Walking Dead as a producer this season.


 * Kenneth Requa joins the crew of The Walking Dead as an associate producer this season.


 * Adelaide and Eliza Cornwell, who portray the part of baby Judith in this season, are, to date, the youngest performers to appear on The Walking Dead.


 * The season premiere, "Seed", had a viewership of 10.9 million people, making it the most-watched basic cable drama telecast in history.


 * On February 23rd, 2015, actor Markice Moore, who played Andrew, attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on Xanax and Patron. He was found unresponsive and was taken to the hospital where he was placed on psychiatric hold.

Notable episodes

 * "Walk With Me" - Andrea & Michonne stand-alone episode; Introduction of the Governor.
 * "Killer Within" - Death of Lori Grimes and T-Dog.

Home video

 * The Walking Dead: The Complete Third Season was released on home video in Region 1 DVD and Blu-ray formats by Starz Entertainment and Anchor Bay Entertainment on August 27th, 2013. Bonus features on the collection include never-before seen featurettes, bonus scenes, deleted scenes and cast & crew audio commentaries.


 * Walking Dead: The Complete Third Season/DVD
 * Walking Dead: The Complete Third Season/Blu-ray