The Walking Dead Ratings Plummet

Sunday saw the Season 8 premiere of The Walking Dead debut on AMC, but it’s learned not as many viewers tuned in and the ratings were really low.

The Walking Dead Season 8 premiere was the lowest rated premiere since the Season 2 premiere in the coveted 18-49 age demographic, with the episode down nearly 40 percent from last season’s near-record premiere (5.0 rating vs. 8.4 [via zap2it]).

Only 11,439,000 viewers tuned in for the The Walking Dead Season 8 premiere, compared to last year’s 17 million.

It should be noted last year’s Season 7 premiere was the second part of the Season 6 cliffhanger featuring the deaths of Glenn and Abraham, which may explain the large drop; however, the Season 8 premiere numbers are lower than Season 6’s 14.6 million as well.

Interestingly enough, the drop in ratings follows the show’s executive producers along with creator Robert Kirkman suing AMC alleging a profits scam, which is similar to former showrunner Frank Darabont suing AMC as well. 

While the lawsuit may have not actually made a difference with most viewers, the real problem is that probably the story just hasn’t been that good, which the Season 8 premiere reflects, at least in my opinion. The Negan storyline is going on way too long, and the premiere was pretty awful–especially when Rick had Negan pinned down with gunfire but basically let him go. 

Another problem with the series, again in my opinion, is that it seems like all you have to do is watch the first and last episodes of each season, as everything in between is filler (and littered with tons of commercials). 

The Walking Dead is no longer a “must watch” as it’s moved away from the best elements the series use to feature: Rick and his group on the run, searching for “something,” with hordes of zombies threatening them. I’m not a big fan of Rick and company being locked down as residents of some town. It’s just boring. The zombies are no longer a threat, and most of the newer characters I could care less about.

That said, the viewership for The Walking Dead is still really high, and it is beating the likes of pro baseball and football, but I’m enjoying other series a lot more including The Exorcist, The Gifted and this season’s Arrow.