Across its eight seasons, Fear the Walking Dead (FtWD) has become a major series in its own right, starting out as an exploration of how society reacted to the earliest stages of the zombie outbreak in The Walking Dead before expanding to showcase how characters like Morgan (Lennie James) have survived the apocalypse. As such, the series has had its ups and downs across its run, with critics' views on each season being adequately represented by the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.

As one of the most popular of The Walking Dead's spin-off series, Fear The Walking Dead has featured some of the extended television franchise's most gripping and intense moments, but it has also had some flat spots along the way. After running for eight years, AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead is set to come to an end with the eighth season’s final episodes airing on November 19. The series has been an essential chapter in the wider The Walking Dead saga, and fans will be eager to review how each season fared with all the Fear the Walking Dead seasons ranked according to Rotten Tomatoes.

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8 Season 7 (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: Unrated

Set in the aftermath of the nuclear missile launches which closed out season six and devastated the landscape of the Texas area, the seventh season of Fear the Walking Dead saw Morgan trying to survive the fallout. With the main characters scattered across Texas, the season has a winding, meandering narrative as the characters face the terrible consequences of Teddy's (John Glover) actions while philosophical clashes between survivors sees tensions rise.

Interestingly, the season is the only one yet to be given a formal rating on the Tomatometer, though the response from the fans was far from positive with a measly rating of 39% as its audience score on the website. While the season did boast some neat features, including Kim Dickens' return to the cast as Madison, the quality of writing did drop significantly. This led to a dissatisfying end to Alicia's (Alycia Debnam-Carey) story and inconsistencies in how the zombie infection behaves. The season only underscores how FtWD should've ended much sooner.

7 Season 5 (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 55%

Viewed to be a bit of a mediocre season by critics and many fans alike, Fear the Walking Dead's fifth season struggled to carry on from the positive reception to season four. With Morgan and Alicia at the forefront of the season, it follows their journey to look for fellow survivors while each of them struggles to come to terms with their pasts and atone for the wrong things they have done to survive.

The season was adjudged as being barely above average by critics who complained that its first half was far too slow and hit too many narrative roadblocks along the way to maintain the interest of audiences. Its preoccupation with adding in Easter egg moments tied to The Walking Dead was deemed by many as being a tiresome way to stir up interest when it could have been making bolder narrative decisions. On a positive note though, the season did receive some praise for its bloody zombie set pieces and its setting up of ideas to come for other spin-offs of The Walking Dead.

6 Season 8

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 60%

With just a 60% approval rate from critics on Rotten Tomatoes – and an even more miserable 41% audience score – it is safe to say that the eighth and final season of Fear the Walking Dead has not ended on the high note fans were hoping for. With the antagonistic, tyrannical presence of PADRE an ominous, overbearing force, much of the season has been preoccupied with Morgan and Madison’s resistance efforts and the conflict that has sometimes stirred between the two.

As the central conflict has too often been an unengaging battle, the series has struggled to pack the punch fans so wish it did. That being said, some critics have noted the season has steadily built with each installment, giving hope that FtWD's final episodes will be able to give fans a rewarding conclusion to the series and the embattled survivors they have come to love. – Ryan Heffernan

5 Season 2 (2016)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%

Taking off from the platform of season one, Fear the Walking Dead was able to incorporate some new and exciting ideas in its sophomore outing. Further expanding The Walking Dead universe, it follows the Clark family as they take to the sea to escape Los Angeles with hopes of finding safety in Mexico, only to find more dangers on the ocean.

The season found great strength in Travis' (Cliff Curtis) compelling character arc, while it was also intriguing to see the lengths Madison would go to in order to keep her family safe, all of which were able to unfold over an extended run of 15 episodes. However, the longer run did maybe contribute to the season's flaws, with criticism being drawn to its slow pacing and its soppiness, though many did view it as being a good expansion from season one.

4 Season 1 (2015)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 76%

The opening season of Fear the Walking Dead was a bold venture into new territory for The Walking Dead as it actively expanded the series, doing so with some immediate brilliance but also some rough patches as it tried to discover what it wanted to be. It largely focuses on the dysfunctional Clark family and the dramas they face as they must put aside their issues as they navigate the onset of the zombie apocalypse.

There are many who would view the first season to be among the show's best, with its mixing of zombie horror and family drama flowing with intense results courtesy of its grounded and realistic sense of fear and its penchant for intense gore and frightening scares. While the show's debut season received mostly positive reviews, there were a number of critics who took issue with how the story unfolded across the season, how the series engaged with its horror foundation, and its lack of engagement through its characters.

3 Season 4 (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

Season four of Fear the Walking Dead saw the series shift its focus as it leaped forward in time to run concurrently with its sister series, The Walking Dead. It begins with the first on-screen crossover between the two shows as Morgan leaves his community in Virginia, despite Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) wishes for him to stay, and heads for the Texas border where he encounters Madison and her family and eventually helps them in their struggles against an antagonistic gang known as the Vultures.

It is unsurprising that the season rated so well on Rotten Tomatoes as its daring spring forward in the timeline was handled exceptionally well, making for a great TV spectacle as the reinvigorated plot found new energy through its rewarding character interactions and some heartbreaking twists. It also revealed that the series would not be afraid to kill off major characters, and began the transition for Morgan to become the series' main lead.

2 Season 3 (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%

With 16 episodes, Fear the Walking Dead's third season was the first to enjoy such an extended run as it focused on the Clark family reaching the Mexico-USA border while also expanding its scope by adding new characters to the mix. While it was where the spin-off series finally was able to establish itself as what it wanted to be, its widespread praise was undercut by concerns its long-winded narratives might diminish the tension.

Still, the season was largely a critical success and is the second-highest-rated installment of the show in the eyes of the Tomatometer. Among its greatest components was the storyline of the Otto family, the reintroduction of Dwight (Austin Amelio) to the franchise, and one of the most shocking deaths in the entire The Walking Dead universe. Given its high-octane excitement, it remains one of the best seasons of Fear the Walking Dead to date.

1 Season 6 (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

It is a testament to the creators that, in its sixth season, Fear the Walking Dead was able to produce its best entry, picking up the pieces from an underwhelming fifth season and giving the show a new, re-energized momentum heading into its final years. It starts where the previous season finished, with Morgan left for dead and being pursued by a mysterious bounty hunter while struggling to regroup with his people scattered across Virginia's many settlements.

Lennie James' performance was a major catalyst for the season being a resurgent hit for the series, while the stronger inflections of Western tropes in both the story and the aesthetic gave it a more distinct feel as well. While season six wasn't quite able to maintain its phenomenal start all the way through, it did still reignite the show while coming to an explosive conclusion which consolidated it as the best season of Fear the Walking Dead.

NEXT: Every 'The Walking Dead' Season, Ranked From Worst to Best