Wired
?SPOILER ALERT?
The following includes details of the most recent episode of The Walking Dead and the fate of the show’s most beloved characters, Rick Grimes.
After months of promotion, Sunday’s “What Comes After” episode during season nine of The Walking Dead garnered an audience of 5.4 million and a 2.1 rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. That’s good enough to rise 6 percent among total viewers and the key demo from October 28’s “The Obliged” episode, the first leg in Lincoln’s departure. “What Comes After” is also the most successful since the season nine premiere on October 7, which drew 6.1 million viewers and a 2.5 rating.
While an uptick in ratings is welcomed by the AMC series at this point, the stats aren’t overwhelming considering Grimes was the lead character of arguably the best show on TV.
It’s no secret that as a whole, The Walking Dead has been on the decline. Compared to the fifth episode in the previous season, the November 4 episode was still down 42 percent in the demo and 35 percent in viewers. Yet despite those significant drops, the zombie drama remains the top-rated show on cable and the second highest-rated drama on all of television.
The one bright spot? TWD‘s post-show talk show, Talking Dead. This weekend’s episode featured an interview with Lincoln himself—in which he discussed stand-alone movie plans—and offered behind-the-scenes insight from showrunner Scott M. Gimple, cast member Melissa McBride, and superfan Yvette Nicole Brown. The Chris Hardwick-hosted after-show drew 2.7 million viewers and a 1.0 rating.
