Once a TV sensation, ‘Walking Dead’ is now just another show
But program remains second-ranked drama behind NBC’s ‘This is Us’
NEW YORK – At some point, a television sensation becomes just another show. The numbers illustrate how that’s become the case with AMC’s drama, “The Walking Dead.”
The zombies are taking a break at the halfway point of their ninth season, following an episode on Sunday that was seen by 5.1 million people. The Nielsen company said that at a similar point last year, the midseason finale reached 7.9 million people.
For the first seven episodes of the season, the show’s viewership was down 23 percent compared with last year for people who watched on the night of its premiere, and down 21 percent when people who record it and watch within three days are taken into account, Nielsen said. Increasing numbers of the show’s fans, particularly younger ones, are waiting a couple of days to see a new episode.
The high point for “The Walking Dead” was its seventh season opener, seen by 21 million people.
AMC acknowledges the drop in popularity, which is hardly unusual for television shows as they age. The network says it is hard for “The Walking Dead” to compete with the ratings standard set when it was a cultural touchstone, but that it’s still television’s second-ranked drama behind NBC’s “This is Us” among youthful viewers.
The network is also encouraged that the show survived the departure of star Andrew Lincoln earlier this season without a major drop in viewership. New episodes for “The Walking Dead” begin again in February.