Yardbarker recently posted the list of 20 Best Improvised Lines in TV History. The list features some tremendous ad-libbed lines from Friends, Parks and Rec, Brooklyn Nine, Nine, The Office, and, of course, The Walking Dead.
In season 5, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the group would arrive in Alexandria. During their introduction to the community, Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) puts on a show of being a timid housewife. With this comes the new ‘soccer mom’ outfit, to which Daryl tells her, “You look ridiculous.” Reedus, caught off guard by the new fashion Carol is sporting, improvised the line.
This earned Reedus and Daryl Dixon a spot on Yardbarker’s list. This led me to research other Walking Dead lines that weren’t scripted, which is actually a rare occurrence in the series, but there are several that have become quite iconic.
Walking Dead improvised lines
One of the best-unscripted lines in The Walking Dead series goes to Abraham Ford, who was portrayed by Michael Cudlitz. During the season 7 premiere, “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be,” Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) had Rick and company lined up to pay for their crimes against his Saviors. He played an evil game of eeny meeny miny moe to select his victim. Abraham was the chosen one, and after the first blow of Lucille to his skull, rises up, looks Negan in the eye, and tells him to “Suck my nuts.” Cudlitz improvised this line and it has since become a line that shows fans the courage of Abraham in the moment of his death.
WATCH THIS VIDEO WITH CAUTION AS IT DOES SHOW THE MOMENT ABRAHAM UTTERS THIS PHRASE, BUT IT ALSO SHOWS ALL OF THE BRUTALITY OF HIS DEATH.
Another line that wasn’t scripted appears in season 6 when Eugene (Josh McDermit) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) are clearing out walkers. She says something to the effect, “You know, you want to give up, or do you want to call it a night?’ to which he replies, “I could go all night.” McDermitt shared with Alternative Mindz that most ad-libbed lines are funny, but you have to stick with the tone. This might seem a serious line, but it is a bit of a double entendre, as Eugene has always had a massive crush on Rosita.
In the eleventh and final season of the series, Michael James Shaw would take on the role of Mercer, a general in the Commonwealth army. Viewers had trouble ascertaining where he stood on how the CW ran things, but he would reveal his true feelings when he said, “Time to f–k s–t up,” indicating he was joining the resistance. Shaw would later share that he did several different versions of that line, but everyone knew THAT was the one.
The Walking Dead is a series that relies on its writers to come up with the dialog, as most ad-libbed lines occur in sitcoms. But occasionally, an actor will break away and come up with gems, like the ones above.
