The Walking Dead explored the post-apocalyptic world after a zombie outbreak. Survivors struggled to rebuild civilization or succumb to the harsh wasteland. Communities were ranked from worst to best, with the Whisperers at the bottom for ceding control of the planet to the zombies and living among them. The police officers in Atlanta under Dawn Lerner's leadership implemented a system of enslaving survivors who had to pay off their medical treatment debt, making it a nightmare to defer to the judgment and power of a former law enforcement officer.