‘Fear The Walking Dead’: The Complete Series Blu-Ray Review – Long-Running Spinoff Traveled A Rocky Road

“Fear the Walking Dead” is a post-apocalyptic horror-drama series set in the universe of “The Walking Dead.” It begins in Los Angeles with Madison Clark and her children, Nick and Alicia, in the early days of a zombie apocalypse. As society collapses, they encounter various threats from walkers and other survivors, and in Season Four, collide with the world of “The Walking Dead” when Morgan Jones joins the story.  Over eight seasons, the group – including characters like Victor Strand and Daniel Salazar – travels through California, Mexico, and Texas facing enemies far more sinister than the undead, while working to rebuild a sense of hope and community in a devastated world.

For thoughts on Fear The Walking Dead, please check out our previous articles here, here, and here. 

Video Quality

Fear The Walking Dead recently concluded its sprawling narrative by releasing the eighth and final season on Blu-Ray earlier this year. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has now given fans an option to snap up the entire run of the series in one package. The series has maintained remarkable consistency across its run, so you can take an individual season assessment and generally attribute it across the board. The 1080p presentation thrives when exploring the spaces with the grimy production design that is made to look even more ragged with textured cinematography that is presented ideally on this disc. Distinct facial features are clearly visible, such as the marks and age lines gathered throughout this journey. Colors are subdued to capture the depressed nature of the story. Black levels are great and never swallow up the objects on screen. No egregious instances of compression artifacts popped up during the viewing. This is a top-notch presentation that represents the series respectfully. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray set comes with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track that nails everything it is asked to do. The all-important score and other key music tracks bring a pulse to the series that fills up the room on this track. When the action commences, there is some activity in the low end that is greatly appreciated. Dialogue largely stays in front center channels and is reproduced clearly. The track does a peerless job of making sure neither sound effects nor the score ever overpowers important elements. Although the series is driven by character moments, there are also bursts of zombie mayhem that wake up the track. There is some welcome ambient activity in the rear channels that add some character to the space. This track is a pleasure to listen to. Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles are provided. French subtitles are also added beginning with season four. 

Special Features

Season One

Whenever the first season was released on Blu-Ray, it debuted with a more stripped-down version and was released later with a “Special Edition” release with a lot more special features. In a baffling turn of events, this release contains the original stripped-down version. 

• A Look at the Series (4:11)

• Inside the Characters of Fear the Walking Dead (2:55)

Season Two

• Audio Commentaries

• • Monster: Co-Creator/Executive Producer Dave Erickson and Actor Kim Dickens

• • We All Fall Down: Co-Creator/Executive Producer Dave Erickson and Actor Kim Dickens

• • Ouroboros: Writer/Producer Alan Page and Actor Cliff Curtis

• • Blood in the Streets: Writer Kate Ericsson and Actor Colman Domingo

• • Captive: Executive Producer David Alpert and Writer Carla Ching

• • Sicut Cervus: Executive Producer David Alpert

• • Shiva: Co-Creator/Executive Producer Dave Erickson and Actor Rubén Blades

• Deleted Scenes (8:13)

• Flight 462 Webisodes (14:34)

• Q&A with Cast and Creative Team from Paleyfest LA 2016 (54:29): Participants include Actors Colman Domingo, Lorenzo James Henrie, Mercedes Mason, Rubén Blades, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Frank Dillane, Cliff Curtis, and Kim Dickens, Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd, and Creator Dave Erickson. 

• Inside Fear the Walking Dead (Every Episode)

• The Making of Fear the Walking Dead (Every Episode)

Season Three

• Audio Commentaries

• • Eye of the Beholder: Co-Creator/Writer/Executive Producer Dave Erickson, Co-Executive Producer/Director Andrew Bernstein, and Actor Kim Dickens

• • Children of Wrath: Co-Creator/Writer/Executive Producer Dave Erickson, Co-Executive Producer/Director Andrew Bernstein, Writer Jami O’Brien and Actors Kim Dickens and Dayton Callie

• • Sleigh Ride: Co-Creator/Writer/Executive Producer Dave Erickson, Co-Executive Producer/Director Andrew Bernstein, and Actors Kim Dickens and Colman Domingo

• Deleted and Extended Scenes

Season Four

• Audio Commentaries

• • What’s Your Story: Executive Producer Scott Gimple and Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg

• • Laura: Director Michael Satrazemis and Actors Jenna Elfman and Garret Dillahunt

• • Close Your Eyes: Director Michael Satrazemis and Actress Alycia Debnam-Carey

• • …I Lose Myself: Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg

Season Five

• Audio Commentaries

• • Humbug’s Gulch: Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg and Actress Jenna Elfman

• • 210 Words Per Minute: Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, Actress Karen David, and Doctor Ron Underwood

• • Ner Tamid: Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg and Actress Alexa Nisenson

Season Six

• Audio Commentaries

• • The End Is The Beginning: Executive Producers and Co-Showrunners Andrew Chambliss, Ian Goldberg and Actor Lennie James

• • In Dreams: Director Michael Satrazemis and Actor Karen David

• • J.D.:  Director Aisha Tyler and Actor Jenna Elfman and Actor Keith Carradine. 

• • The Beginning: Executive Producers and Co-Showrunners Andrew Chambliss, Ian Goldberg and Actor Colman Domingo

Season Seven 

• Audio Commentaries

• • The Beacon: Executive Producers and Co-Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg

• • Cindy Hawkins: Actor Jenna Elfman and Writers Nick Bernardone and Jacob Pinion

• • Gone:  Executive Producers and Co-Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg

Season Eight

• Audio Commentaries

• • Remember What They Took from You: Executive Producers and Co-Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg

• • All I See Is Red: Director Michael E. Satrazemis

• • All I See Is Red: Actor Lennie James

• • The Road Ahead: Executive Producers and Co-Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg

Final Thoughts

Fear The Walking Dead was a series of highs and lows. When it first started, it had difficulty distinguishing itself from the mothership enough to entice viewers to stick past the shaky first season. It wasn’t until around the third season that it truly found its identity, and there were stretches during the middle portion of its tenure when it met or even exceeded the original series. As with every iteration of this franchise, there was always a bad stretch around the corner from a good run, and this series ended during one of its downturns. Yet, we still cannot be sad this show was created, as it offered some premium entertainment at times, however inconsistent. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray set featuring a great A/V presentation and most of the previous special features in one package. Recommended 

Fear The Walking Dead: The Complete Series is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.