The sixth season of The Walking Dead, an American post-apocalyptic horror television series on AMC, premiered on October 11, 2015,[1] and concluded on April 3, 2016, consisting of 16 episodes.

[2] This season adapts material from issues #78–100 of the comic book series and introduces notable comic characters, including Heath (Corey Hawkins), Dr. Denise Cloyd (Merritt Wever), Dwight (Austin Amelio), Paul "Jesus" Rovia (Tom Payne), Gregory (Xander Berkeley) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

Following Pete's death, the season continues the story of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group of survivors, who must take a step back from the violence they've come to embrace, as multiple threats lead them to adopt a mindset of hardness.

The first half of the season focuses on the group, still having trouble assimilating in the Alexandria Safe-Zone, leading the community through a series of crises, including luring the threat of a massive herd of walkers away from a nearby quarry, an attack by dangerous scavengers known as the Wolves and the invasion of a gargantuan swarm of walkers inside Alexandria.

Alexandra Breckenridge, Ross Marquand, Austin Nichols and Tovah Feldshuh are credited as "Also starring" after being promoted from recurring status.

On Metacritic, the season holds a score of 79 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 10 critics.

The site's critical consensus reads: "Six seasons in, The Walking Dead is still finding ways to top itself, despite slow patches that do little to advance the plot.

In summary, he said: "Walking Dead's Season 6 had some big, effective moments while also crumbling under an avalanche of fake outs & trickery."

His major criticisms of the season were "Glenn's 'death' - and other cheap fake outs/unnecessary cliffhangers" and "characters clumsily steered into making dumb choices.

To me, The Walking Dead has lost whatever core of human relationships it ever had, and whether Glenn lives or dies, it just feels mechanical now."

"[43] The Hollywood Reporter later declared that the show had "lost its credibility" when Glenn was revealed to be alive in the seventh episode, "Heads Up."

He declared season 6 "a mixed bag" and was frustrated with the decision to hold off Glenn's fate for 3 episodes.

When speaking of the confirmation of Glenn being alive, Kain felt the decision was "implausible" from the inconsistency of his fall and camera angle tricks.

[47] "The Next World" received highly positive reviews for its lighter tone[48] and the romance between protagonist Rick Grimes and Michonne by fans and critics alike, notably The Guardian[49] and The A.V.

"[52] The finale, "Last Day on Earth", received largely mixed to negative reviews, with many criticizing the cliffhanger.

While Jeffrey Dean Morgan's performance as Negan was praised, the episode was mostly criticized for its cliffhanger ending.

The episode's critical consensus reads, "Despite Jeffrey Dean Morgan's deliciously evil turn as Negan, the meandering "Last Day on Earth"—and its manipulative cliffhanger ending—make for a disappointing season finale.

Club gave the episode a C, the lowest grade given by the site for the show to date, and commented, "The problem is almost everything else.

[56] The season also received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for the 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which were for Outstanding Prosthetic Make-up for a Series, Limited Series, Movie, or Special and Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role (both for "No Way Out").

[61][62] The Walking Dead's sixth-season premiere ("First Time Again") received 14.63 million viewers in its initial broadcast on AMC in the United States.