TMC
12-17-2016, 09:52 PM
http://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-walking-dead-amc-shouldnt-rely-anymore.html/
The Walking Dead returned for its seventh season on October 23, and fans of the AMC series have been waiting with bated breath. Last season’s stunner of a finale left us wondering and speculating as to who, exactly, was at the other end of Negan’s beloved bat, Lucille. As a result, there has been much discussion about the direction the series is heading in, and how much longer it can sustain the type of viewership it’s maintained these past six years.
It’s pretty clear that The Walking Dead won’t be ending anytime soon — AMC just renewed it for an eighth season. But if the network’s decision-makers aren’t thinking about what comes next, they certainly should be. Series creator, Robert Kirkman and his creative team have had plenty of criticism about the sixth season’s pacing and plotting. And then, there’s the issue of just how long fans will stay invested in the series.
Furthermore, The Walking Dead is currently AMC’s highest-rated program, and it’s one of a handful of flagship series that really helped launch AMC as a legitimate creative network. The hype leading into Season 7 has made it clear that plenty of fans are still happy to stick around for more adventures in the apocalypse. But, some viewers have started to tune out — and that fact alone should be enough to make the network think about what comes next.
But there are other reasons too — and lessons to be learned from other successful networks that have struggled to stay afloat creatively once their flagship series came to an end.
The Walking Dead returned for its seventh season on October 23, and fans of the AMC series have been waiting with bated breath. Last season’s stunner of a finale left us wondering and speculating as to who, exactly, was at the other end of Negan’s beloved bat, Lucille. As a result, there has been much discussion about the direction the series is heading in, and how much longer it can sustain the type of viewership it’s maintained these past six years.
It’s pretty clear that The Walking Dead won’t be ending anytime soon — AMC just renewed it for an eighth season. But if the network’s decision-makers aren’t thinking about what comes next, they certainly should be. Series creator, Robert Kirkman and his creative team have had plenty of criticism about the sixth season’s pacing and plotting. And then, there’s the issue of just how long fans will stay invested in the series.
Furthermore, The Walking Dead is currently AMC’s highest-rated program, and it’s one of a handful of flagship series that really helped launch AMC as a legitimate creative network. The hype leading into Season 7 has made it clear that plenty of fans are still happy to stick around for more adventures in the apocalypse. But, some viewers have started to tune out — and that fact alone should be enough to make the network think about what comes next.
But there are other reasons too — and lessons to be learned from other successful networks that have struggled to stay afloat creatively once their flagship series came to an end.