The Walking Dead creator wanted the show to kill Rick off early – but we're so glad it didn't

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman has revealed that he pushed for the TV series to kill Rick Grimes off in an early season but, thankfully in our opinion, the writers insisted the character be kept on the show.

During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con recently, Kirkman recalled how he'd regularly burst into the AMC hit's writers' room and pitch the lead's death, claiming that it'd be an amusing way to "freak out" viewers. "With Walking Dead, I was much younger and much more reckless," Kirkman said (via Entertainment Weekly). "I was an absolute lunatic. I would be like, 'Kill Rick Grimes today! I don't care! It'll be funny!'"

"The writers are like, 'Robert, you're crazy. We can't do that,'" he laughed. "But any time there were big changes in The Walking Dead, that's what excited me."

For the most part, The Walking Dead was pretty faithful to its source material across its 11 seasons. It never shied away from offing main characters – RIP Hershel, Beth, Glenn, Abraham, Carl, and more – and was all the better for it, as it highlighted the dangers of the post-apocalyptic society these folks have found themselves in. That said, it would've been a real shame to have missed out on Andrew Lincoln's staggering performance as the former Deputy Sheriff – and his perfect American accent. (Seriously, how many Brits over-pronounce their Ts or elongate their As while trying their best to play someone from the Midwest?)

The Love Actually actor never picked up any Primetime Emmy nods for the role, which is wild, but us fans appreciate everything he gave to the horror-drama over the years. If you think back to 'Days Gone Bye', The Walking Dead's very first episode, we were introduced to... the new world through Rick's bleary eyes, establishing a bond between us and him like it did no other character on the show. Later, Lincoln had us tearing up when Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) died, birthed the ever-famous "Coral" meme, and left us shaken when Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan broke Rick's spirit. He also scared us, inspired us, and well, rocked a bloody face like no one else.

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Lincoln stepped away from the show in season 9, when an injured Rick was whisked away by a Civic Republic Military helicopter, and it was never quite the same. So it can only be considered a good thing that he didn't leave sooner...

In the comics, Rick didn't make it until the end of the series, having been killed by Pamela Milton's son Sebastian (played by Teo Rapp-Olsson in the show) not long after the survivors stumbled across the Commonwealth. But we're glad his onscreen counterpart hasn't kicked the bucket just yet... and will soon be fronting his own spin-off series The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, opposite Danai Gurira's Michonne.

For more, check out our guide on how to watch The Walking Dead franchise in order. Or, if zombie apocalypses aren't your thing, have a peruse of our list of new TV shows heading our way.