Why The Walking Dead Started To Lose Viewers After Season 5 – Screen Rant

The Walking Dead is still popular but the series saw a major decline in viewership after season 5. Multiple factors could be responsible for the drop.

The Walking Dead's viewership started to drop after season 5 and a number of factors could beresponsible. The AMC hit series was originally developed by Frank Darabont and based on the graphic novel series from Robert Kirkman. After going through a handful of showrunner changes, The Walking Dead has regained some steam heading into season 11. Fans are also still awaiting The Walking Dead's season 10 finale, which was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Walking Dead centers on a group of survivors trying to build a new life following a zombie apocalypse. For much of the series, the survivors were led by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). The deadly walkers have always remained a threat but after the debut season, humans emerged as the most dangerous villains. First, there was Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal), then came the Governor (David Morrissey) in season 3. After the Governor's demise, the cannibals from Terminus became the major threat before the focus shifted to Alexandria in season 5.

Related:Why The Walking Dead Really Doesn't Use The Word "Zombie"

Rick and his group finally found safe refuge until they were targeted by a group known as the Wolves in early season 6. The Wolves subplot was quickly pushed aside for the introduction of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his loyal followers, the Saviors. Around this time, The Walking Dead's ratings dipped and the viewership numbers started on a downward spiral. Whereas season 5 held the top average of over 14 million viewers per episode, season 6 followed with a little over 13 million. The Walking Dead season 7 dropped even lower to 11 million and it has only drastically declined from there. Sure, the story could be to blame, but the overall quality of the storytelling is also at fault.

Much of the criticism following The Walking Dead season 6 and onward came from theSavior storyline. Negan's presence was drawn out and there were too many filler episodes that lacked any attempts at advancing the plot. It took two and a half seasons for Rick to take down Negan, and when it finally happened, it felt anti-climatic. The Negan storyline could have easily been shortened while making the same impact on the bigger picture.

Viewers also took issue with the deaths of big characters as well as the gratuitous use of gore. Not only were Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn's (Steven Yeun) deaths controversial - not to mention the fact that the season 6 finale cliffhanger turned away fans - but many viewers were turned off by Carl's (Chandler Riggs) exit.The quality of the episodes also declined as showrunner Scott Gimple seemed to lose sight of the narrative and prioritized shocks over substance.

In The Walking Dead season 9, Angela Kang took over as showrunner and got the series back on track, according to critics. Viewership is still down but interest in loyal viewers remains. Even with the loss of Rick and the absence of Maggie (Lauren Cohan), season 9 and 10 captivated fans with the introduction of the Whisperers. With Maggie back in the fold, it will be interesting to see if The Walking Dead can attract more viewers for season 11 and beyond. If not, the end could be near for the longtime AMC series.

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Kara Hedash is a features writer for Screen Rant. From time to time, she dives into the world's most popular franchises but Kara primarily focuses on evergreen topics. The fact that she gets to write about The Office regularly is like a dream come true. Before joining Screen Rant, Kara served as a contributor for Movie Pilot and had work published on The Mary Sue and Reel Honey. After graduating college, writing began as a part-time hobby for Kara but it quickly turned into a career. She loves binging a new series and watching movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to hidden indie gems. She also has a soft spot for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. Her favorite Avenger is Thor and her favorite Disney princess is Leia Organa. When Kara's not busy writing, you can find her doing yoga or hanging out with Gritty. Kara can be found on Twitter @thekaraverse.

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Why The Walking Dead Started To Lose Viewers After Season 5 - Screen Rant

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