Like global warming or terrorism, the threat of more of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” remains pervasive and fear-inducing – and it’s one that won’t be solved anytime in the near future.
David Madden, president of programming at AMC, appeared at the Television Critics Association press tour this week and says he thinks the series is not just going strong but the property could have another ten seasons of life left in it if not more: “I’m not saying the show will go twenty seasons, but I’m not saying it won’t.”
Madden says the series is the second biggest on TV, a stat no network can ignore: “Once ‘Game of Thrones’ is technically off the air, it’s the No. 2 show on TV. You don’t sneeze at it being No. 2 out of the three billion shows that are on TV.”
Another interesting fact – ratings only slipped 1% immediately after the departure of the series’ main star Andrew Lincoln, and they’ve stabilised since. Madden says: “The episode that followed his departure dropped 1% from the previous episode. 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.”
Overall ratings have dropped steeply for the show in recent years, but it remains the most-watched non-sports program on cable. The talk comes as, after 193 issues, Robert Kirkman’s source material upon which the show is based has come to an abrupt end earlier this month. Shooting on a third series based on the property kicks off on Monday.
“The Walking Dead” returns later this year.
Source: The Wrap
