Unless you’re a big comic book nerd (like this writer), you probably aren’t aware that this month saw the surprise ending of “The Walking Dead” comic book series. After 193 issues, Robert Kirkman’s beloved zombie tale came to an end. When this happened, folks began thinking that perhaps this meant that there was an endgame in mind for the popular AMC series based on the books. Well, if you thought that, clearly you don’t understand the idea of Cable TV and making money because ‘Walking Dead’ ain’t going anywhere.
David Madden, president of programming, entertainment networks at AMC, thinks the series is not only going strong but could have another 10 seasons left in the tank. Speaking at a recent TCA event (via The Wrap), the AMC exec said that ‘TWD’ is the #2 series on TV, once “Game of Thrones” is technically out of the picture. And that, he said, is a stat that you just can’t ignore.
Another statistic that is hard to look past is the fact that once the star of the series, Andrew Lincoln, left ‘Walking Dead’ last year, the ratings for the series surprisingly didn’t get affected.
“The episode that followed his departure dropped 1% from the previous episode,” he said. “That, we thought, was stunningly strong in terms of a hold. I think the show still has — with Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride and Jeffrey Dean Morgan — a lot of characters who are truly beloved on the show.”
READ MORE: AMC Announces Third ‘Walking Dead’ Series Because People Apparently Still Love Zombies
Some may argue that because of the massive ratings drops from the last few years, the only people really watching ‘TWD’ now are the diehards that are too invested in the story to quit now. Of course, as he mentioned, that’s still a large number of viewers.
So, is there an end in sight? Nope. Not at all. In fact, Madden said, after 10 years, we might only be halfway there.
“I’m not saying the show will go 20 seasons, but I’m not saying it won’t,” said Madden.
“The Walking Dead” returns later this year.