The Walking Dead: All Seasons (DON'T POST SPOILERS)
- Thread starter SamSneed
- Start date
Rick hallucinating in the field of the dead like one of Comic 100's variant covers
Why The Walking Dead Is Losing Viewers (Despite Season 9 Being Better)
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Although only three episodes in, The Walking Dead season 9's ratings are looking to be a new low for the show. This is despite the season itself proving to be a marked improvement on the last couple of years of AMC's zombie thriller.
Last week’s episode of The Walking Dead, "Warning Signs", received just 5 million viewers, with the show’s performance in the key 18-49 demographic in particular decaying faster than one of the show’s walkers, hitting an all-time low of 1.9m, a fall of 50% from the same time last year, and a continuation of the slide that has seen the show go from over 17m people watching the season 7 premiere to less than half that now.
Related: The Walking Dead May Have Just Shown How Rick Dies
The general consensus, however, seems to be that The Walking Dead is betternow: new showrunner Angela Kang has taken a back to basics approach, with the look and feel more reminiscent of the earlier days; The Walking Dead season 9actually feels like it’s building towards something, rather than the protracted All Out War storyline; and with Andrew Lincoln’s pending departure, there’s a genuine sense of emotion. So just why is the show continue to lose its once loyal and rabid fandom despite the uptick in quality?
THE WALKING DEAD HAS BEEN RUNNING FOR TOO LONG
The easiest and most obvious answer to the ratings decline is a simple one: The Walking Dead has been on longer than a TV drama would typically run. Its AMC peers, Breaking Bad and Mad Men, both of which are held up as shining examples of TV's Golden Age, ran for five and seven seasons respectively, and that's more in line with the standard viewers might expect.
It's especially difficult to maintain quality control for so many years, which has resulted in the last couple of seasons of The Walking Dead, which has often fluctuated slightly in this regard anyway, taking a much bigger dive. Contrast to, say, Game of Thrones, where there's a clear end goal in sight, and TWD's length instead becomes a source of frustration; it has increasingly looked like the show will simply run and run with no clear end in sight, meaning viewers, without the promise of closure, end up growing tired and dropping off.
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Most TV shows start reasonably high in the ratings, climb over a couple of years, and then begin to dip again, and for such long-running dramas that's only magnified: take Grey's Anatomy as an example, which at its peak had a viewership of 20m, which was in the top 10 most-watched shows in the U.S, and is now half that in season 14. There's only so much of a serialized drama fans will watch, as The Walking Dead is discovering.
Related: The Biggest Questions About Rick's Walking Dead Departure
SEASON 9 IS BETTER... BUT ONLY IN SOME WAYS
As mentioned, The Walking Dead has improved in season 9. On IMDb, the first four episodes of the new run hold ratings of 7.5, 8.0, and 8.2, and 8.8 respectively, in comparison to 6.9, 6.7, and 6.3, and 6.8 from the same stretch of episodes last year. While it's not back to the level it was around the end of season 4/start of season 5, it's a considerable upturn, and fans and critics both agree the show is the best it's been in a good couple of years.
Angela Kang has breathed fresh life into the series, and "Warning Signs", despite the bad ratings, was a legitimately good episode. However, it's not like everything is magically fixed. There's still the concern that the series has 16 episodes in its season, and whether or not its storyline can fill that. It's also evident there's no end goal, meaning that whatever happens, the show is going to struggle to go in truly new directions beyond the survivors battling the next new evil, and switching between hope and despair and back again. And the series has already burned a number of bridges in that regard over the years.
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There's the matter of its cast, too: while Andrew Lincoln's Rick and Lauren Cohan's Maggie have taken center stage this year, both are leaving soon. The likes of Daryl (Norman Reedus), Carol (Melissa McBride), and Michonne (Danai Gurira) are all getting a good amount of screen time too, but look beyond those, who have been the core of the show for so long, and there aren't too many characters who've been fleshed out or for audiences to really care about. And, of course, The Walking Dead season 9 still struggles to balance its sprawling cast. It may be better, but that's in contrast to the show's nadir, rather than comparative to its peak, which obviously isn't good enough for many (now former) viewers).
AMC PREMIERE MAY SKEW VIEWS
Traditional ratings metrics paint a negative picture for The Walking Dead, but it's not necessarily all doom and gloom. AMC launched their own subscription-based streaming service, AMC Premiere, last year, and are giving it a big push with The Walking Dead for Season 9.
Related: Here's How Much Time Has Really Passed In The Walking Dead
AMC Premiere offers the show to subscribers ad-free, and has been making episodes available prior to regular broadcast, giving die-hard fans the chance to get ahead of the game and see episodes early, without having to sit through adverts either. It's unclear just how many people are watching on Premiere, but there's an incentive there for Walking Dead fans which will be eating at least a little into its viewership. As we've seen with a number of cable networks, getting people to sign-up for their own services, rather than relying on ads, is key to long-term strategy (e.g. Twin Peaks: The Return for Showtime), as to shift some Walking Dead viewers there might look bad in the ratings, but could have some payoff down the line.
THE WALKING DEAD IS STILL DOING WELL FOR AMC
Even ignoring the impact AMC Premiere is having upon viewership, and setting aside the dramatic drop-off in ratings over the last couple of years, it's worth considering that, by AMC's usual standards, The Walking Dead is actually in decent shape.
The network's other big horror offering this year, The Terror, didn't even make it to 2m viewers for most of its episodes, despite an impressive cast and plenty of critical acclaim. It's a similar story for AMC's other offerings too: Into The Badlands, Preacher, Better Call Saul, and TWD's sister show Fear The Walking Dead all struggle to get even half of what The Walking Dead does. It looks even better with delayed viewings factored in too, with last week's "Warning Signs" rising from 1.9 among 18-49s to 3, making it the highest-rated scripted drama on cable for that week.
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It may not be the all-conquering behemoth it once was, and this is also offset by the fact it's more expensive than the others, especially with big new contracts for its stars, but for AMC it's still the ratings getter.
GENRE SHOWS DON'T GET MASSIVE RATINGS (OUTSIDE OF GAME OF THRONES)
Butall of this ignores one key argument: The Walking Dead should never have had the success it did. It's a show about zombies, airing on basic cable, based on a series of comic books made from outside the Marvel/DC dichotomy, and contains a whole lot of gore, violence, and death.
Related: The Walking Dead's Helicopter & "A" Theory Confirmed
That isn't, generally speaking, the kind of show with a broad appeal. Indeed, just look at AMC's Preacher, which ticks most of those same boxes - swap out zombies for a man with the voice of God and a vampire - and you find a series already dipping below 1m viewers in its third season. Preacher is particularly weird, but it's more in line with what's expected of such genre shows. Starz's Ash vs Evil Deadwas canceled after three seasons due to negative ratings, while comic book shows, even from Marvel and DC, such as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrow, and The Flash, can't compete with the kind of figures The Walking Dead achieves.
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The problem, of course, is that it reached such a high-level, thanks to a mix of critical acclaim, word-of-mouth, and watercooler moments. Its rise ran parallel to Game of Thrones and, for a time, they were genuinely battling it out. Thrones, however, has proved to be an outlier in a number of ways, not only by being a fantasy series with tens of millions of viewers, but one that keeps on growing the longer it keeps on going. Other genre shows don't fare half-as-well, and if The Walking Dead were to launch now, in the crowded marketplace of Peak TV, its ratings might be considered a success.
As it is, though, it's a show that has dropped off from nearly 20m to just a quarter of that amount in the space of a couple of years, and apart from a potential short-term gain for Rick Grimes' final two episodes, it doesn't look like halting the decline anytime soon, no matter how good Season 9 might prove to be.
- BY LUKE HUTCHINSON
- – ON OCT 30, 2018
- IN SR ORIGINALS
ADVERTISING
Although only three episodes in, The Walking Dead season 9's ratings are looking to be a new low for the show. This is despite the season itself proving to be a marked improvement on the last couple of years of AMC's zombie thriller.
Last week’s episode of The Walking Dead, "Warning Signs", received just 5 million viewers, with the show’s performance in the key 18-49 demographic in particular decaying faster than one of the show’s walkers, hitting an all-time low of 1.9m, a fall of 50% from the same time last year, and a continuation of the slide that has seen the show go from over 17m people watching the season 7 premiere to less than half that now.
Related: The Walking Dead May Have Just Shown How Rick Dies
The general consensus, however, seems to be that The Walking Dead is betternow: new showrunner Angela Kang has taken a back to basics approach, with the look and feel more reminiscent of the earlier days; The Walking Dead season 9actually feels like it’s building towards something, rather than the protracted All Out War storyline; and with Andrew Lincoln’s pending departure, there’s a genuine sense of emotion. So just why is the show continue to lose its once loyal and rabid fandom despite the uptick in quality?
- This Page: Problems With The Walking Dead Hurting Ratings
- Page 2: Why The Walking Dead's Ratings Aren't As Bad As They Seem
THE WALKING DEAD HAS BEEN RUNNING FOR TOO LONG
The easiest and most obvious answer to the ratings decline is a simple one: The Walking Dead has been on longer than a TV drama would typically run. Its AMC peers, Breaking Bad and Mad Men, both of which are held up as shining examples of TV's Golden Age, ran for five and seven seasons respectively, and that's more in line with the standard viewers might expect.
It's especially difficult to maintain quality control for so many years, which has resulted in the last couple of seasons of The Walking Dead, which has often fluctuated slightly in this regard anyway, taking a much bigger dive. Contrast to, say, Game of Thrones, where there's a clear end goal in sight, and TWD's length instead becomes a source of frustration; it has increasingly looked like the show will simply run and run with no clear end in sight, meaning viewers, without the promise of closure, end up growing tired and dropping off.
ADVERTISING
Most TV shows start reasonably high in the ratings, climb over a couple of years, and then begin to dip again, and for such long-running dramas that's only magnified: take Grey's Anatomy as an example, which at its peak had a viewership of 20m, which was in the top 10 most-watched shows in the U.S, and is now half that in season 14. There's only so much of a serialized drama fans will watch, as The Walking Dead is discovering.
Related: The Biggest Questions About Rick's Walking Dead Departure
SEASON 9 IS BETTER... BUT ONLY IN SOME WAYS
As mentioned, The Walking Dead has improved in season 9. On IMDb, the first four episodes of the new run hold ratings of 7.5, 8.0, and 8.2, and 8.8 respectively, in comparison to 6.9, 6.7, and 6.3, and 6.8 from the same stretch of episodes last year. While it's not back to the level it was around the end of season 4/start of season 5, it's a considerable upturn, and fans and critics both agree the show is the best it's been in a good couple of years.
Angela Kang has breathed fresh life into the series, and "Warning Signs", despite the bad ratings, was a legitimately good episode. However, it's not like everything is magically fixed. There's still the concern that the series has 16 episodes in its season, and whether or not its storyline can fill that. It's also evident there's no end goal, meaning that whatever happens, the show is going to struggle to go in truly new directions beyond the survivors battling the next new evil, and switching between hope and despair and back again. And the series has already burned a number of bridges in that regard over the years.
ADVERTISING
There's the matter of its cast, too: while Andrew Lincoln's Rick and Lauren Cohan's Maggie have taken center stage this year, both are leaving soon. The likes of Daryl (Norman Reedus), Carol (Melissa McBride), and Michonne (Danai Gurira) are all getting a good amount of screen time too, but look beyond those, who have been the core of the show for so long, and there aren't too many characters who've been fleshed out or for audiences to really care about. And, of course, The Walking Dead season 9 still struggles to balance its sprawling cast. It may be better, but that's in contrast to the show's nadir, rather than comparative to its peak, which obviously isn't good enough for many (now former) viewers).
AMC PREMIERE MAY SKEW VIEWS
Traditional ratings metrics paint a negative picture for The Walking Dead, but it's not necessarily all doom and gloom. AMC launched their own subscription-based streaming service, AMC Premiere, last year, and are giving it a big push with The Walking Dead for Season 9.
Related: Here's How Much Time Has Really Passed In The Walking Dead
AMC Premiere offers the show to subscribers ad-free, and has been making episodes available prior to regular broadcast, giving die-hard fans the chance to get ahead of the game and see episodes early, without having to sit through adverts either. It's unclear just how many people are watching on Premiere, but there's an incentive there for Walking Dead fans which will be eating at least a little into its viewership. As we've seen with a number of cable networks, getting people to sign-up for their own services, rather than relying on ads, is key to long-term strategy (e.g. Twin Peaks: The Return for Showtime), as to shift some Walking Dead viewers there might look bad in the ratings, but could have some payoff down the line.
THE WALKING DEAD IS STILL DOING WELL FOR AMC
Even ignoring the impact AMC Premiere is having upon viewership, and setting aside the dramatic drop-off in ratings over the last couple of years, it's worth considering that, by AMC's usual standards, The Walking Dead is actually in decent shape.
The network's other big horror offering this year, The Terror, didn't even make it to 2m viewers for most of its episodes, despite an impressive cast and plenty of critical acclaim. It's a similar story for AMC's other offerings too: Into The Badlands, Preacher, Better Call Saul, and TWD's sister show Fear The Walking Dead all struggle to get even half of what The Walking Dead does. It looks even better with delayed viewings factored in too, with last week's "Warning Signs" rising from 1.9 among 18-49s to 3, making it the highest-rated scripted drama on cable for that week.
ADVERTISING
It may not be the all-conquering behemoth it once was, and this is also offset by the fact it's more expensive than the others, especially with big new contracts for its stars, but for AMC it's still the ratings getter.
GENRE SHOWS DON'T GET MASSIVE RATINGS (OUTSIDE OF GAME OF THRONES)
Butall of this ignores one key argument: The Walking Dead should never have had the success it did. It's a show about zombies, airing on basic cable, based on a series of comic books made from outside the Marvel/DC dichotomy, and contains a whole lot of gore, violence, and death.
Related: The Walking Dead's Helicopter & "A" Theory Confirmed
That isn't, generally speaking, the kind of show with a broad appeal. Indeed, just look at AMC's Preacher, which ticks most of those same boxes - swap out zombies for a man with the voice of God and a vampire - and you find a series already dipping below 1m viewers in its third season. Preacher is particularly weird, but it's more in line with what's expected of such genre shows. Starz's Ash vs Evil Deadwas canceled after three seasons due to negative ratings, while comic book shows, even from Marvel and DC, such as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrow, and The Flash, can't compete with the kind of figures The Walking Dead achieves.
ADVERTISING
The problem, of course, is that it reached such a high-level, thanks to a mix of critical acclaim, word-of-mouth, and watercooler moments. Its rise ran parallel to Game of Thrones and, for a time, they were genuinely battling it out. Thrones, however, has proved to be an outlier in a number of ways, not only by being a fantasy series with tens of millions of viewers, but one that keeps on growing the longer it keeps on going. Other genre shows don't fare half-as-well, and if The Walking Dead were to launch now, in the crowded marketplace of Peak TV, its ratings might be considered a success.
As it is, though, it's a show that has dropped off from nearly 20m to just a quarter of that amount in the space of a couple of years, and apart from a potential short-term gain for Rick Grimes' final two episodes, it doesn't look like halting the decline anytime soon, no matter how good Season 9 might prove to be.
So how far did rick get.... nevermind
I
This scene mixed with Sasha was amazing. Far better than expected. Rick will be back...
Rick hallucinating in the field of the dead like one of Comic 100's variant covers
This scene mixed with Sasha was amazing. Far better than expected. Rick will be back...
Y'all peep the preview??? Another time skip now with "Evolved Walkers".
Wheererre Are Theeeeyyy....
Y'all peep the preview??? Another time skip now with "Evolved Walkers".
This episode was supposed to be epic but was a let down, I thought it was gonna be on the level of the Tyrese death episode but it was trash. They got Rick leaving like that so viewers will continue to watch hoping for a glimpse of his return. My question is Who the fuck they think gonna watch this shit now with JUDITH being an official character
The same place/places, the preview still showed them in Hilltop and Alexandria
the show exec said on the talking dead, they going to do an tv movie on what happened with rick.
Y'all peep the preview??? Another time skip now with "Evolved Walkers".
a.k.a the Whisperers
and looks like i called it w/ Judith being aged up
Proximity is a muthafucka so you telling me Rick got blown clear..foh, I end up across the map lls
I thought the shit was alright. It was built up since Comic con as Rick Grimes last season and started the show as Rick Grimes final episode. It had me the whole time waiting to see how that summa bitch dies and to end with the curve. I like that I didn't see that coming. They are now coming to build out different universes and also add back stories.
For the comic heads what's a person A or Person B in the TWD universe
For the comic heads what's a person A or Person B in the TWD universe
The A or B thing doesn't exist in the comics. The closest thing to that are two leaders of another group of nutjobs named Alpha and Beta.
shit
Now it got ok
Still dumb shit
He dropped the bag knowin horse are some scary ass animals, then jumped knowin he’d get hurt
Cac kids stay on that bullshit, they just don’t listen
I’m glad she burned those dusty ass niggas up
Did they communicate out loud or in a tone only they can here wtf
Still dumb shit
He dropped the bag knowin horse are some scary ass animals, then jumped knowin he’d get hurt
Cac kids stay on that bullshit, they just don’t listen
I’m glad she burned those dusty ass niggas up
Did they communicate out loud or in a tone only they can here wtf
Just glad to hear that they aren't becoming smart
The Whisperers make a big debut with the killing of Jesus.
DAHITMAN
Rising Star
wow she looks fucking great
Damnnnnnnnnnn
Killed Jesus lol
Killed Jesus lol
They could have sacrificed one arm gay man instead of Jesus.
But they handled his death in a dope way cause who would ever expect a walker to duck and pary?
If they follow the book, which they dont; the whispers kill a lot of the fan favorites.
Also just how short in Soldiers is the Kingdom? Carol is supposed to be the Queen there now and she travels to Hilltop with Henry without a security detail when its the Queen and Prince? Where is Morgan and them at, I would've figured Morgan brought his ppl from FTWD back to Kingdom. Kingdom could really use Morgan and his ppl cause they're looking really weak right now.
I wanna wanna know what happened between Rick fake dying g and now. Why do they have those "x" on their backs ( michonne and Darryl). Why did Michone have to go drop her weapon when she arrived? They were acting real cold to her at the gate? Something big happened in those 5-6 years