With the swing of a bat, the Walking Dead was easily the most popular show on television. However, with increasingly more characters to adapt into the story, the loss of fan favorite characters, and rehashing of similar story lines, how much longer can the show continue to receive this unprecedented popularity? Within this season, the shows ratings have already drastically declined from the season premiere. Why has the show lost its fervor? Can the directors/writers take steps to salvage the series, or will it be too little too late?
The show should have taken a more 'Game of Thrones' approach to the plot. 'Game of Thrones' established very early in its airing that main characters and fan favorites are not immune to death. If the fan-base is more story-driven, the show is easier to steer from a writing standpoint. – MikeySheff8 years ago
The decline of ratings for the Walking Dead can also be attributed to the complex storyline. Especially this current season has a lot of parallel plots, that all develop very slowly and keep the audiences waiting for anything to happen that could bring the plot really forward. Even though it makes sense to establish characters like Negan as the evil villain and show the audience what he is really capable of doing, it drags on and on. Additionally a lot of fans read ahead in the comic series and stir up discussions online, which makes it difficult to keep up a neutral stand on the show. The killing of popular characters then takes another toll on the audience. The early exploring/surviving mentality, where the group tried to built on something has disappeared, along with beloved characters. This atmosphere that was created in earlier seasons could be one thing to bring back the show to its original success. – lajungbl8 years ago