The Walking Dead season 8 episode 9 ratings up; the Chandler Riggs factor?

The Walking Dead season 8 episode 9 ratings are now officially in and we come bearing some reasonably good news for AMC — given that this was the final episode of the series with Chandler Riggs, there was probably an expectation for some improvement.

How much did the series actually get? Well, consider that performance fairly mixed at best. This particular episode ended up generating in total a 3.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which was up versus the final episode of the fall. Yet, simultaneously it did not perform anywhere near as well as we anticipated given the fact that this episode was the final one for The Walking Dead to feature actor Chandler Riggs. We anticipated a bump up to at least a 4.0, given that the arrival of Negan at the start of season 7 led to a temporary ratings gain that was actually somewhat successful.

Ultimately, the ratings for The Walking Dead are down a good 30% from where they were in season 7 and that’s a pretty enormous decline; it’s a sign that there is some serious Walking Dead fatigue that is out there and that many viewers are ready to move on from the series. Given the very negative reaction that is out there towards killing off Carl, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the ratings slip down to a 3.0 or even lower by the end of the season. Ratings are typically down in the spring versus the fall and there’s no clear narrative engine at the moment. Maybe there is a chance that some sort of peace again could be reached within the worlds of the show but, for now, that may not be enough of a reason to inspire many viewers out there to want to watch.

The next few weeks are going to be very telling to the long-term future of The Walking Dead. While the series may already have a season 9, there is not too much of an indicator out there at present that the series has some sort of future that will last several years.

Related – Read more in terms of our review from Sunday’s The Walking Dead

To get even more reaction to Carl’s death, check out the video below — while you’re at it, feel free to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube!

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