AMC might just be the new HBO.

For years, HBO, a premium cable channel, has been producing television shows with high production values, big budgets, and limited censorship.

HBO’s shows have been critically acclaimed. You’ve probably heard of them: The Sopranos, Entourage, Game of Thrones, The Wire, Six Feet Under, True Blood, and Boardwalk Empire, to name just a few.

But recently, AMC (which stands for American Movie Classics) has begun to encroach on HBO’s territory by producing high-quality and critically-acclaimed original television shows. It began with Mad Men, the show about 60s ad executives that garnered universally favorable reviews. Now, the network broadcasts shows like Breaking Bad, The Killing, and (my personal favorite) The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead was not expected to turn into one of the most-watched shows on television. However, the first season, which premiered last year on Halloween and was a mere six episodes long, was watched by so many people and received such rave reviews that AMC instantly ordered a second season.

This brings us to now. The second season of The Walking Dead premiered last Sunday on AMC, and it was quite an episode. I’ll be the first to admit that every time I see a TV show that I like, I proclaim that it is The Best Show On Television. That being said, The Walking Dead may actually take the cake.

Yes, it’s a show about zombies. But it’s so much more than your run-of-the-mill flesh-eating gore-fest. The Walking Dead has a deep and intricate cast of characters, from a former sheriff to a racist white supremacist to an Asian comic book enthusiast. There are kids, wives, extramarital affairs, and abusive husbands that link all of these characters together.

Essentially, The Walking Dead chronicles the journey of this jumbled group of people as they travel not only to escape the zombie outbreak that has sprung up around them but also to figure out how and why the outbreak occurred. Their trek takes them from abandoned department stores all the way to the Center for Disease Control.

The season two premiere combined everything to love about the first season (zombies) with even more zombies. Without revealing too much, the episode dealt with: an RV running out of gas in the middle of a zombie-infested area, a zombie/human fight in a bathroom, a little girl going missing in a forest filled with zombies, and humans praying in a church full of zombies.

A quick word about the zombies: they are perhaps the most lifelike (for lack of a better term) zombies that I have ever seen portrayed either on television or in a movie. The makeup and special effects are mind-blowing. They are somewhat revolting (due to decaying limbs and whatnot), so if being faint of heart or stomach is your strongest suit, watch at your own risk.

The first season of The Walking Dead is currently available to watch on Netflix Instant Streaming. There are only six episodes, so there’s really no reason not to begin watching The Walking Dead right now.

Sunday night’s premiere frightened me so much that I couldn’t help but run upstairs quickly after it ended. I suppose I’ll have to wait until next Sunday to see if there’s a zombie hiding in my basement. I can’t wait.

Catch The Walking Dead on AMC, Sundays at 9:00 p.m.