3. "The Walking Dead" (AMC)



There were very few characters who dominated online discussions this year than Negan, who made his much talked-about debut at the end of Season 6 in April. In a role that helped veteran TV viewers rediscover his versatile acting ability, Jeffery Dean Morgan launched months of incessant speculation about who he bludgeoned with his baseball bat Lucille in the season finale. By the time the show returned for a seventh season in October, fans were ready to discover Negan's victim, but what they saw -- and how the action played out -- sparked an outpouring of outrage and online discussion of their own. The Season 7 premiere stands as one of the most controversial episodes of the year.