Summary
Although certainly a huge nuisance,The Walking Deadwouldn’t be the iconic show it is without its bloodthirsty, bone-munching living dead that seem to show up at the most inconvenient of times. Most people wouldn’t want to meet a zombie under any circumstances, but the age-old question about whether zombies can indeed swim has finally been answered by theAMCseries' creator, Robert Kirkman.
Spanning across comics, television, and video games,The Walking Deadhas seen a huge amount of success where it was nominated for several awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama and the Writers Guild of America Award for New Series. Even though viewership declined during the show’s later seasons due to lackluster storylines and thedeaths of many popular TWD characters, the series amassed a hugely loyal and dedicated fanbase throughout its eleven seasons. Even thoughThe Walking Dead’s finale episode ended on July 26, 2025, interest in its post-apocalyptic world, spin-offs, and zombie facts never seem to fade.
As reported byScreen Rant, a recentcomic book issue ofThe Walking Dead Deluxe#103, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Dave McCaig, and Rus Wooton, which showcases Rick getting the boot out of the group by Negan, altering the dynamics of the team’s leadership, answers the long-debated and fought over question regarding if zombies can actually swim or do they just…float?. In a section of the comic, Kirkman replied to fans' burning questions and this seemed to be a popular one. “Do [zombies] float or sink? Would a river carry them away? Would they just walk into a river if someone was on a boat attracting them?” askedThe Walking Deadfan, with the creator stating that water and zombies aren’t a good combination as they would end up decaying.
With that answered once and for all regardingThe Walking Deadzombies, itsspinoff series,Fear the Walking Dead,seems to not have received the memo that zombies cannot swim. In the series premiere episode of season two,zombies can be seen swimming in the sea as Victor Strand’s yacht, the Abigail, mows them over with its propeller. In aninterview with EW, executive producer Dave Erickson explained the situation by stating that “They can wade. That’s something we experimented with when we shot the first episode. We’ve figured out the best ways to shoot water zombies. They don’t drown. They keep floating back up.”
Season two ofThe Walking Dead: Dead Citydoesn’t have a release date just yet, but it is slated for release sometime in 2025.
