What is the appeal of a show like the Walking Dead?

The zombies are a constant threat but not really what the show is about.

It's about fantasizing that the world is a much simpler place, and we no longer have to deal with all the byzantine rules of society, and all the pretension and artifice that goes along with that.

It's about survival, outwitting your enemies, and forming close, personal bonds with others through experiencing the horrors of the end of modern society and the world in which we live.

What is the appeal of even watching TV? It is a total waste of time. I don't own one.

it's a metaphor, a representation of what happens when humans gather in large crowds, they becaome zombies and their brains don't function

Im not normal. I just love zombies and most end-of-the-world secnarios.
I also love zombie games.

It’s a bit morbid
But it’s fun!

The earlier seasons were good but its really lost its substance since then.

I think the zombies in popular culture are a metaphor for mindless, soulless human behaviors, especially doing drugs (meth, heroin) and watching TV.

The show has zombies but it is really about human interaction when the world goes to $h1t

the thrill is in the evading, not the failing

You answered your own question...

🤷..my son watches

It's more about how humans triumph in the face of adversity.