[8-Ball]

I've take a break from the walking dead. I came to this forum all the time. I was wondering when my last post was and it was just over 3 years ago. Haven't caught back up on the comic, but got caught up with the show and I understand why I took a break. I am going to give the show another shot though. I'm too invested into the story to give up at this point. I assume there are a lot of viewers like myself. 

[kombat]

It's worse than that. The 2.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic is the lowest since S1E5.

 

But it bears repeating. In the big picture it is still just fine. The ONLY show last week to top the 2.8 rating was The Oscars. The Voice, 2.8. Big Bang Theory, 2.5. This is Us, 2.5. Young Sheldon, 2.0. Grey's Anatomy, 2.0. It does get slaughtered in overall ratings, but in the demographic advertisers care about the most, it is still on top in all of television, not just cable. Of course any more 15% drops and it's going to be hard to stay near the top.

[kombat]

I've take a break from the walking dead. I came to this forum all the time. I was wondering when my last post was and it was just over 3 years ago. Haven't caught back up on the comic, but got caught up with the show and I understand why I took a break. I am going to give the show another shot though. I'm too invested into the story to give up at this point. I assume there are a lot of viewers like myself. 

 

A few people have posted that the last season and a half is more watchable, actually enjoyable, when binge watching as opposed to watching week to week and without the long breaks in between.

[8-Ball]

A few people have posted that the last season and a half is more watchable, actually enjoyable, when binge watching as opposed to watching week to week and without the long breaks in between.

 

I feel like this is definitely true.

[cornjob]

Its a lot easier to keep viewers than to recruit new ones to a show that is this many seasons in. The Walking Dead is bleeding away its loyal viewership. If this isn't a giant crisis to the producers of the show, then nothing ever would be. 

 

Its not surprising, since the common sentiment has been a decline in the show's quality. (And maybe that is partly coupled with some story fatigue where there isn't much new and interesting in the zombie apocalypse world, or at least nothing they've shown us.)

 

I don't understand the motivation of posters that minimize the importance of the trend. We are watching a popular show as it circles the drain. Did you watch X-Files?  Do you remember the last couple seasons? They were not good. The budget will be cut to reflect the lower anticipated ad revenue. We'll start to see the story being restricted based on which actors they can pay for X number of episodes. Special effects budgets will shrink. Characters will get written out, etc. 

I would just as soon they wrap up the show if it comes to that, instead of trying to drag out 3 or 4 more years. But the tea leaves are there for any of us to read.

[cornjob]

Below is a graph of viewers per episode for the entire run (from the wikipedia page). The last time the show had a viewership lower than this past week was during Season 2. (6.6M).  The episode thread here several days after the episode is at 1 page still. I'm sure its still profitable to make the program, but you have to think the budget will be getting slashed. The notion that they have several more years of story to tell has to be in jeopardy. I can't think of an example where a show lost viewers like this, and then surged again. Its approaching have lost half of the audience from the season premier. 

 

 

[Jamber]

i've skipped most of the season outside of the morgan eps and wherever negan shows up  --- for me it's the cast, last episode i saw it was a tara centric episode, so didn't bother watching, she's too fat for the end of the world scenario lol and her trying to be a bad ass, just laughable bad .. the only marketable/watchable actor they got seems to be jeffery dean morgan now, he's the only one that seems to be seen outside of walking dead and in big movies ... everyone else, nope, hell they don't even get photoshoots much anymore it seems --- this world we live in --- beauty sells and that's something TwD is lacking

[Mr. NomNom]

i've skipped most of the season outside of the morgan eps and wherever negan shows up --- for me it's the cast, last episode i saw it was a tara centric episode, so didn't bother watching, she's too fat for the end of the world scenario lol and her trying to be a bad ass, just laughable bad .. the only marketable/watchable actor they got seems to be jeffery dean morgan now, he's the only one that seems to be seen outside of walking dead and in big movies ... everyone else, nope, hell they don't even get photoshoots much anymore it seems --- this world we live in --- beauty sells and that's something TwD is lacking

it's been bad for the past couple of seasons. It's just incredibly bad.

The actress who plays Tara had a baby a few seasons ago. Blame them for not having her take time. They could have easily wrote her off for a few episode. If they really needed her to lose weight.

As for the actress and the one bad episode. She did alright in season 4. It's just terrible writing. The only person they can right well enough sometimes is Carol.

As for the beauty thing. Meh. I don't watch a zombie show looking for attractive women. Nor photo shoots. I use to watch back when it was decent.

Writing is just plain bad. That's the truth.

[kombat]

i've skipped most of the season outside of the morgan eps and wherever negan shows up  --- for me it's the cast, last episode i saw it was a tara centric episode, so didn't bother watching, she's too fat for the end of the world scenario lol and her trying to be a bad ass, just laughable bad .. the only marketable/watchable actor they got seems to be jeffery dean morgan now, he's the only one that seems to be seen outside of walking dead and in big movies ... everyone else, nope, hell they don't even get photoshoots much anymore it seems --- this world we live in --- beauty sells and that's something TwD is lacking

 

I have nothing against JDM as an actor, but in this case it was serious error in casting. He just doesn't work for me as Negan. He has a good voice, but not the physique. How he was ever allowed to rule through physical force is laughable.

 

Even in the hey day, Norman Reedus was really the only actor you saw out promoting the show, doing the talk show circuit, and what not. Even the lead person, Andrew Lincoln, does next to nothing to help promote the show. That's a thing that's always bothered me. It's also why I've always said Daryl is untouchable.

[PurpleUnicorn]

Below is a graph of viewers per episode for the entire run (from the wikipedia page). The last time the show had a viewership lower than this past week was during Season 2. (6.6M).  The episode thread here several days after the episode is at 1 page still. I'm sure its still profitable to make the program, but you have to think the budget will be getting slashed. The notion that they have several more years of story to tell has to be in jeopardy. I can't think of an example where a show lost viewers like this, and then surged again. Its approaching have lost half of the audience from the season premier. 

 

 

 

This is very telling. Clearly the decline started from season 7, episode 1 "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" where they killed off Glenn and Abraham. That's the day when TWD died. From that episode, its been a straight line downward. I can't wait to see the ratings for the season finale on this graph. Its gonna get even worse, if that's even possible. The death nail was killing Carl, the show won't recover from that. This is what happens when you don't listen to your fans and take them for granted.

[cornjob]

This is very telling. Clearly the decline started from season 7, episode 1 "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" where they killed off Glenn and Abraham. That's the day when TWD died. From that episode, its been a straight line downward. I can't wait to see the ratings for the season finale on this graph. Its gonna get even worse, if that's even possible. The death nail was killing Carl, the show won't recover from that. This is what happens when you don't listen to your fans and take them for granted.

I think you have a real problem when you kill of likable characters, and then have the lead characters begin acting in unpredictable and antisocial ways (current Rick, Morgan). The audience can't connect with the show any more, not nearly as much as they used to. 

[PurpleUnicorn]

I think you have a real problem when you kill of likable characters, and then have the lead characters begin acting in unpredictable and antisocial ways (current Rick, Morgan). The audience can't connect with the show any more, not nearly as much as they used to. 

 

I agree. They basically killed off Glenn and Abraham for nothing. Nothing happened after that. Negan is still alive. They killed Carl off for nothing. In a well written story characters die but its for a purpose, it propels the story and other characters forward. All of these deaths seem to just be for shock value. I don't mind you killing off my favorite characters if its for the greater purpose of the story but here there is none. All this is at this point is senseless torture p#rn. An example of a show that gets it right is Game of Thrones. When Ned Stark died in season 1, it propelled the story of those around him forward. It created a very distinct set of events. When Arya's mother and brother were butchered at the red wedding, it propelled Arya's story forward and made her become the deadliest assassin on earth. I don't have a problem with major character deaths, I have a problem with sloppy, stupid, lazy story telling. If you're gonna kill off Glenn and Carl Grimes, you better have a freakin' good reason to do so!

 

I stopped watching when it was announced that they were gonna kill Carl but yes, the inconsistent writing of the characters is another problem that's been going on for a while. It can be chocked up to one thing, bad writing.

[kombat]

6.3 million, a drop from 6.6 the week before. 18-49 demo still strong though. I was expecting a much bigger drop off considering how bad last week's episode was. Below 6 million wouldn't have surprised me.

[Jgreenwood]

I agree. They basically killed off Glenn and Abraham for nothing. Nothing happened after that. Negan is still alive. They killed Carl off for nothing. In a well written story characters die but its for a purpose, it propels the story and other characters forward. All of these deaths seem to just be for shock value. I don't mind you killing off my favorite characters if its for the greater purpose of the story but here there is none. All this is at this point is senseless torture p#rn. An example of a show that gets it right is Game of Thrones. When Ned Stark died in season 1, it propelled the story of those around him forward. It created a very distinct set of events. When Arya's mother and brother were butchered at the red wedding, it propelled Arya's story forward and made her become the deadliest assassin on earth. I don't have a problem with major character deaths, I have a problem with sloppy, stupid, lazy story telling. If you're gonna kill off Glenn and Carl Grimes, you better have a freakin' good reason to do so!

 

I stopped watching when it was announced that they were gonna kill Carl but yes, the inconsistent writing of the characters is another problem that's been going on for a while. It can be chocked up to one thing, bad writing.

 

The show has never really had a clear purpose or real motivating cause for the actions of the characters beyond surviving longer than whoever or whatever is thrown at them. That gets old and stale and in the end nothing really adds up to anything meaningful without an endgame.

[jaco]

I agree. They basically killed off Glenn and Abraham for nothing. Nothing happened after that. Negan is still alive. They killed Carl off for nothing. In a well written story characters die but its for a purpose, it propels the story and other characters forward. All of these deaths seem to just be for shock value. I don't mind you killing off my favorite characters if its for the greater purpose of the story but here there is none. All this is at this point is senseless torture p#rn. An example of a show that gets it right is Game of Thrones. When Ned Stark died in season 1, it propelled the story of those around him forward. It created a very distinct set of events. When Arya's mother and brother were butchered at the red wedding, it propelled Arya's story forward and made her become the deadliest assassin on earth. I don't have a problem with major character deaths, I have a problem with sloppy, stupid, lazy story telling. If you're gonna kill off Glenn and Carl Grimes, you better have a freakin' good reason to do so!

 

I stopped watching when it was announced that they were gonna kill Carl but yes, the inconsistent writing of the characters is another problem that's been going on for a while. It can be chocked up to one thing, bad writing.

 

This is very well said.   Agree 100%.  The drop off in the quality of the show was palpable after Glenn and Abraham's deaths.  They probably could've killed Abraham and survived, but both of them was short sighted.   The series had grown a life of its own apart from the comics, and without Glenn there's a huge hole in the cast still to this day.   Sure, you can argue Maggie's storyline needed this, but now with their contract disputes is that a valid point?

Now without Carl it really is a very bleak show.    Your parallels to Game of Thrones are on point, too.   They used those deaths as launching pads to promote the growth of other characters (who are also good actors).   Here, it's just been a death spiral of cliches.

[kombat]

I'll be curious what happens with S9. I don't know if there is any precedent for a show regaining viewers, but with so many quitting because of Negan, now that that arc is over is it possible some of them come back? Knowing that he's still alive I doubt it. If they had killed him, maybe. I think the best hope is that the show does improve, and by word of mouth some of them come back by binge watching S9 next summer on Netflix and come back for S10.

 

Of course, you also have the problem of people leaving because Negan is still alive. Many have said they're done if they don't kill him off. Well, they didn't.

[Partyof5]

They didn't kill him off, and I'm done.  I missed a few episodes this season and realized I didn't miss much.  I am going to stick by my original statement that if Negan lives, I leave.  Nothing else in the finale gave me any reason to alter that.  The Maggie, Jesus, Daryl plot at the end just makes me want to leave even more.  This is no longer my Walking Dead.  It's something else, and not something I'm interested in watching.  

[Mr. NomNom]

They didn't kill him off, and I'm done. I missed a few episodes this season and realized I didn't miss much. I am going to stick by my original statement that if Negan lives, I leave. Nothing else in the finale gave me any reason to alter that. The Maggie, Jesus, Daryl plot at the end just makes me want to leave even more. This is no longer my Walking Dead. It's something else, and not something I'm interested in watching.

I only watched one episode this season. The finale. I thought was pretty meh. Negan being spared it annoying and Rick is still a bad leader.

[kombat]

7.9 million for the finale. Lowest since Season 1 !!!! The show is still set to finish the season the second highest show on TV in the 18-49 demo, behind only Roseanne. Still doesn't change the fact that the show has lost 1/3 of it's audience since last year and half since 2 years ago. There's no doubt in my mind that the change in show runner has to do with AMC realizing the show needs a "creative reboot" if you will.

 

Good news also is that FTWD's ratings were up 33% from last year's premiere. Some I'm sure is carryover from TWD. But hopefully word of mouth is spreading that the show is actually good now and people who left or never gave it a chance will now.

[cornjob]

I wonder how many other actors are hoping their character can jump to FTWD and get off this sinking ship.

 

Imagine you are the new showrunner and see these trends. What do you do? Will they start departing more from the source material? Will we see some big crisis between Rick and Maggie? The set-ups for next season include the mysterious chopper people and the giant horde. Is there some plan for Jadis? Will Aaron switch teams and practice polygamy with the Oceanside harem? 

[Alessia2]

I wish too, that people would give chance for the new showrunner. I don´t believe the show would be actually back to the numbers of 4-5th seasons, like they wish, but hopefully the change and something new would make it more interesting? The writing should be better though.

I think there are still so many watchers that the opinions vary a lot for what each would feel interesting. But I think everyone agree that the stupid mistakes should be fixed up and writing to be made working better.

[PurpleUnicorn]

Season 7 ratings drop was epic, TWD lost 6 million viewers. They continued the trend in season 8, losing another 3 millions viewers. They had an opportunity to right the ship this season, but instead they just made everything worse and their decisions just let me know that they just don't get it. You would think that if you lose 6 millions viewers in one season you'd figure out what's wrong and fix it. But nope, its like the show suffered a gunshot would in season 7 and was limping along. Instead of stitching up the wound they stuck a knife in it and opened it up deeper. This season was the final death blow, the show will never recover the viewers its lost. Its just a slow death march from here.

[Alessia2]

PurpleUnicorn, I believe they had planned the seasons of All Out War beforehand all together and didn´t use their chance to change it when saw there was something that didn´t work... They should have, though.

I must once again take Grey´s anatomy for an example. There were some horribly uninteresting and (for me) badly made seasons with major characters leaving, super odd and annoying time jumps, concentrating annoying and less interesting characters and situations, and all that way, and I was close to stop watching because it felt like my favourite series was ruined. Still though, I´ve enjoyed really much this recent (14th) season and feel happy I didn´t let it go totally. So it is possible to make things better again. I think with TWD the question is mostly, if they want and will to do that... If they go stubbornly on with the vision they like and not listening at all the watchers, there may not happen as well as with GA.

[omegaman]

I think the Season 9 premiere is going to have a huge increase in viewers due to the new showrunner and people's curiosity. It's going to be up to them to keep the new/returning viewers however.

[Nareen]

I think the Season 9 premiere is going to have a huge increase in viewers due to the new showrunner and people's curiosity. It's going to be up to them to keep the new/returning viewers however.

 

I suspect that most viewers of TWD, those who don't follow message boards and such, won't even or ever know there is a new show runner.

 

Myself, I don't believe that Angela Kang, who has worked under Gimple for years, will be much better.