MASSIVE SPOILERS: When the show first came out it was a new and interesting story line. Now Kirkman has gone on record as saying this is a character development driven show, and frankly, the characters are not that interesting or really bring out anyone's acting chops. "Hey what did you do before this broke out?" or "Look how so and so has adapted to the new world" are about the only development that takes place. They find a foothold, get knocked out of it by some new antagonist and wander the woods aimlessly for sometimes an entire half of a season. This show is not built for awards, its built for the viewers which ask for lots of characters (to which everyone has a character to relate to) and lots of brutal zombie kills for the entertainment of said viewers. If there were a clear and concise story line outside of just survival, I think it would give the actors an opportunity to really showcase their talent because the rhetoric is tired and has already been done. This season Maggie and Daryl will mourn Beth, just like Andrea mourned Amy, and just like Rick and Carl mourned Lori. People die and they react. The reaction to those deaths are more or less written off because of the "this is the world we live in" mindset of those that follow the show.

In no way am I saying this is a bad show, I tune in every week and also follow the Talking Dead to get insight from the actors themselves. But to even be considered for awards, the show would have to really spin on its head to get any recognition. Breaking Bad and Mad Men were nominated and won awards because it relied on the actors as well as the story line to pull in ratings. As for TWD, the show could conceivably go on without Rick or any of the lead characters, yet it is a character development driven show. It goes to show that the "next man up" survival mentality will never showcase anything resembling what would the show or any actor would need to warrant any sort of nomination. The story needs to develop along with the show, and as we have seen, it really hasn't. I know some people in here will bring up the change of scenery, season, or backdrop, and they have the right to do so, but they are still in the Atlanta area dealing with the same sort of story issues that they had in previous seasons. The story remains the same but the characters are changing, but what is holding it back is, those characters are also dying. Enter new character, same story: "How are you adapting to this new world?".

I don't care about downvotes, just putting in my two cents and would love feedback!