The Walking Dead’s reign as a ratings powerhouse could be coming to an end. The Season 8 finale of AMC’s long-running zombie drama received its lowest ratings since any premiere since Season 1.
Variety reports Sunday night’s finale, entitled “Wrath,” had a Nielsen rating of 3.4 for adults 18-49 and 7.9 million viewers according to Live+Same Day numbers. For reference that’s 30% down in total viewers from last year’s Season 7 finale and 50% the viewership of the highest-rated Season 5 finale in 2015.
“Wrath” had to square off with some stiff competition thanks to ABC News’ highly publicized interview with former FBI Director James Comey and the ACM Awards on CBS. Despite all that, TWD still managed to be the highest-rated program on Sunday – though Season 8 consistently shed its Season 7 viewership all year with the season premiere being the show’s lowest-rated since Season 3 and the midseason finale falling to it’s lowest since Season 2.
Here’s how all the season finales broke down according to Nielsen ratings:
Season 5 (2015) — 8.2, 15.8 million
Season 4 (2014) — 8.0 rating, 15.7 million
Season 6 (2016) — 6.9 rating, 14.2 million
Season 3 (2013) — 6.4 rating, 12.4 million
Season 2 (2012) — 4.7 rating, 9 million
Season 8 (2018) — 3.4 rating, 7.9 million
Season 1 (2011) — 3.0 rating, 6 million
So, where has the show been going wrong? You certainly can’t fault a show in its eighth — and heading into ninth — season with experiencing from viewer fatigue. TWD really started to hurt itself back in Season 6 when it infamously began toying with its loyal fans with a fake-out story about Glenn dying — going so far as to remove actor Steven Yeun’s name from the opening credits for a few episodes – and then ending the season on a cliffhanger that made viewers wait months to find out Negan’s first victim following his introduction (ironically, the aforementioned Glenn).
Speaking of Negan, his and Rick’s war felt drawn out at times, which could also have caused fans to drop the series. The idea of a violent battle for territory has been done time and again on the show and this entire season often felt like a stretched story of what past seasons have told better in half a season or less.
If you look at the series’ highest rated finales — Season 4 and 5 — they included quite a bit of the unknown. Season 4 brought The Governor’s revenge, and ultimate demise, by the midseason finale — which separated the cast and scattered them to the wind. Season 5 found the group back on the road and then eventually discovering a thriving community in Alexandria. They were successful because they were dynamic and featured closure, movement, and discovery of new aspects of this apocalyptic world we hadn’t seen. Season 8 may have touted the series’ most fun villain, but it often felt static with everyone feeling content to dig in their feet and wait for the next big battle.
Fortunately for fans, the show seems to already be making moves to have the show feeling fresh again. It was announced back in January that Angela Kang would be taking over showrunning duties for the series as current showrunner Scott Gimple was elevated to chief content officer.
“The newness of the narrative is driven by her vision,” Gimple told reporters following Sunday’s finale. “She’s putting different things forward that we haven’t seen before. And she’s also been working on the show since Season 2, so she knows it inside and out. And even this year, when I was working on [Walking Dead Seasons 8 and 9, and Fear the Walking Dead], more and more responsibility went to her, so it’s not like she’s jumping into something she doesn’t know. She knows exactly where all the keys are. She’s completely equipped to do a great job.”
A fresh driver behind the wheel never hurt, and Kang’s new direction could be the exact jolt the show needs to sit confidently upon its ratings throne.
