It has been a hit comic and now has been a top rated show for AMC for five seasons. The Walking Dead has brought zombies mainstream.

Recently, Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead comic and a producer on the AMC TV series adaptation, has revealed one major regret about the series – a regret that is actually a pretty big episode in the scheme of things. Kirkman tells The Hollywood Reporter:

“If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t have done the CDC episode [at the end of season one]”.

The finale of the first season saw CDC doctor Edwin Jenner (Noah Emmerich) revealing to the group of survivors that everyone is already infected with the virus. Why does he not like it?

“It possibly gave away too much information and was such a big change very early on in the series. I feel like there might have been a better way to wrap up the first season. It ended up being a fun episode. I love the character of Dr. Jenner and thought Noah did an amazing job. But there were things in that episode that I think seem very much not of The Walking Dead world.”

Another problem he has with it is the brief reference to French scientists being onto a potential cure for the zombie apocalypse:

“I probably would have changed that stuff. I’ve been careful in the comic series to not say what’s happening in other parts of the world. It’s something that’s going to be fun to explore in the spinoff series. But the fact that France is mentioned in that episode and other things like that, I probably would have steered away from that stuff if I had to do it all over again.”

Kirkman is also very quick to praise actress Melissa McBride for her work as Carol on the show, a sentiment many fans would agree with. He also discussed how her on screen counterpart is such a change from her comics version:

“Carol was extremely different in the comic and I was attempting to tell a completely different story with that character than what we ended up doing on the show. Carol in the comic and Carol on the show couldn’t be more different. I’m really proud of the evolution that that character has gone through. It’s one of the best parts of the show.

Melissa McBride’s performance is absolutely amazing. More than any other character, Carol has evolved in leaps and bounds. You go back to the first season and it’s almost like a different actress is playing that character because she’s so different. It’s been a really remarkable transformation in a show about transformation. That’s been a great and welcome change.”

The Walking Dead’s midseason finale airs this Sunday at 9pm on AMC.

The Walking Dead spinoff companion series takes place in the same zombie-infested universe, but instead explores what is going on in a still to be revealed other part of the world. AMC has ordered a pilot episode with Adam Davidson set to direct.

AMC hopes to air the pilot in 2015.

“The Walking Dead” slowed down for some Daryl and Carol time in Sunday’s “Consumed,” and it allowed audiences an insightful look into the current mental state of the two fan-favorite characters. It’s clear both are grappling with how much they have had to change since the zombie apocalypse hit, while also still dealing with emotional trauma from pre-apocalypse abuse.

Star Melissa McBride, who plays Carol Peletier, tells Zap2it she enjoys taking time for these quieter, character-driven episodes. She also reflects on why Daryl and Carol share such a unique connection, whether fans should read anything into that bed scene and if Carol will be strong enough to break out of the hospital with Beth.

The Season 5 premiere sealed it: The Walking Dead’s Carol Peletier is primetime’s reigning action heroine.

“She’s doing these extraordinary things that two years ago… she never would have fathomed she would be running around in a blanket full of guts, blowing things up,” actress Melissa McBride tells Yahoo TV about her character, Carol. “I love her. I’m so endeared by her.

“I was elated that the writers came up with this particular story for her, this role for her to play. I was so proud of her, creating that wonderful diversion. And I loved it that she was going to take it on at any cost, to try it, regardless of the consequences. She could be killed, she could be mistaken for a walker. Anything could’ve happened, but she was going to try, and I loved that.”

Carol’s badassery is going to be called on again and again this season, be it running off with Daryl to find Beth, as we saw her doing at the end of Episode 2, or helping her friends understand, as she puts it, that they can’t rely on luck to see them through their ever-more-dangerous world. McBride talked to Yahoo TV about why she gets so emotional about her character, why Carol is having a hard time reconnecting with her friends, and a cryptic preview of what’s ahead for Carol the rest of Season 5.

Before we jump into Season 5, when you were asked about Carol at New York Comic Con a couple of weeks ago, you became very emotional about her. What sparked that?
I get emotional when I think of her… just how far she’s come. I love the strength that she’s able to experience now within herself. My heart just goes out to anyone who has to struggle against anything like that. You think, “It’s never going to end. I can’t find the strength within myself to do what I know I need to be doing.” It’s such an internal conflict, and my heart goes out to anyone who has done what they needed to do to overcome that situation. Carol represents to me so many people who I know in my life who are still here, maybe still struggling, or who are not here anymore. [Carol] is definitely a hero to me and a hero to a lot of people who identify with her story so far. That makes me truly, genuinely, very happy.

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I’ve added HD captures of Melissa from last night’s episode to the gallery, hope y’all enjoy!