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The Walking Dead: Negan’s Arrival is the Point When Ratings Declined, Viewers Left

Negan’s arrival on The Walking Dead signaled the moment that ratings declined for the AMC zombie drama. Broadband Choices conducted a review of ratings data collected from IMDb.com and charted the ratings for the first nine seasons of the The Walking Dead. The results show that after the premiere of Season 7, where Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) were executed, that Negan is to blamed for the ratings decline.

SEASON SEVEN

Broadband Choices’ review of The Walking Dead’s season averages dropped slightly over the course of the first six seasons. At the start of Season 7, “the quality of the show falls off a cliff.” There were several issues with the show. There was the outrage over the executions of two significant characters.  Another issue was the communities’ inability to do anything significant to stop Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). As well, viewers became very tired of Negan’s redundant behavior and monologues.

Additionally, the Season 7 opener received complaints from the FCC for its violent and graphic depiction of the executions. The Parents Television Council reported the “brutally explicit” episode was “one of the most graphically violent shows we’ve ever seen on television.” This also marked the beginning of the show’s rapid decline in viewership. No other show has seen such a decline in viewership numbers as quickly as The Walking Dead.

In October, during his panel at Walker Stalker Con Atlanta, Morgan admitted Negan was “very one-dimensional” during Seasons 7 and 8.

“I thought the first couple of years that we knew Negan was very one-dimensional. To me, when Negan came out of the RV for the first time, we didn’t learn anything about him for two years, three years. And that was hard,” said Morgan. “I felt like everything that I said coming out of that RV is sort of what I said for the next two years, and never shifted. I think with the introduction of Judith (Cailey Fleming), and that relationship, we got to see a little different side of him.”

SEASON EIGHT

Season 8 marked the lowest ratings for a season, which was dubbed “All Out War.” However, viewers felt that a true war never culminated but instead the show continued aimlessly. Multiple opportunities to kill Negan were presented to Rick and his crew but were unsuccessful. The best example is when Rick and the gang arrive at the Sanctuary and fired their weapons on every object in the world except Negan, who was was standing wide open and unprotected on an elevated platform. As well in Season 8, Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) died due to a walker bite and fans were outraged at how poorly his death was written and many believed that Carl should have been the future of the show, much like his comic book counterpart.

SEASON NINE

Season 9 brought in new showrunner, Angela Kang, and saw an improvement in the quality of writing and storytelling. However, Season 9 also saw the show’s central character, Rick Grimes, depart the show. Although the season was a critical success and individual episode ratings increased, viewership numbers continued to decline.

SEASON TEN

Finally, Season 10 received the highest rating scores of any of the 10 seasons of The Walking Dead. Kang and her team have put together much greater stories and depth. Also, Alpha (Samantha Morton) and the Whisperers have given the show’s heroes a much more dangerous group of antagonists. As well, Negan’s story lines and better dialogue now have fans cheering him on. Morgan said in his panel, that Season 10 is the “best stuff [he’s] gotten to do on the show.”

Negan and the Saviors’ two-season dominance of The Walking Dead are the low for the series and caused the decline in ratings and the decline in viewership numbers. As we see more of the old Negan return with his new interaction with the Alexandrians, will we see it cause the same thing again in Season 11? We’ll just have to wait and find out.

The Walking Dead Season 11 returns August 22.

What do you think about Negan’s arrival and two year story line as the culprit for the fall of The Walking Dead? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

44 thoughts on “The Walking Dead: Negan’s Arrival is the Point When Ratings Declined, Viewers Left

  1. Personally I love Negan, He just oozes charisma. The problem was viewers had become attached to other characters that got killed off and when this happened some viewers through their rattles out of their prams. I think the last two seasons 9/10 are droll with far too much dialogue and the whisperers are just plain boring. Another thing I hate is inconsistent storylines jumping backwards and forwards every other scene. Gid I hate that. Just confuses the shit out of me.

  2. I don’t blame the Negan character entirely. His arrival coincided with a time when the rest of the show also went more ‘comic book’.

    One minute the show felt gritty and realistic (bar the zombies), set in the remains of a world that we recognized. Then, suddenly… there’s a ‘King’ who speaks like he’s out of Shakespeare… and he’s got a pet tiger… and there’s there’s a load of weird people living in a dump who have their own dialect…

    The change was too abrupt, especially for the majority who weren’t invested in the comic book.

  3. No! I disagree. The killing of 2 good characters, especially just as Abraham was becoming a richer fuller person and Glen was about to be a father was a mistake. (But THE biggest mistake ever was killing Hershel !!)We quit watching for awhile. The real complaint heard spoken again & again tho is the using of the show as a platform for a certain minority’s social views. It’s highly offensive to have entertainment highjacked and have a social or political agenda forced down our throats! We will give it one more chance to get back into ENTERTAINMENT before we walk away for good.

  4. Downfall? Hell no. More like upgrade and making shit interesting again on The Walking Dead. Negans character brings a certain badass feel to the show. A certain toughness in the show. A character that actually has balls and can get shit done in a world full of zombies. He isn’t a character that cries over every little thing and sits there wondering what to do next. No. Negan knows how it is. He understands how it has to be. He understands what it is he has to do. He goes and he gets shit done. Right now he is with the whisperers and I have a damn good feeling that he is going to take Alpha out of the picture just like in the comics. He is going to take out the enemy for Ricks people. This is Negans way of making up for what he did to Ricks people. Unless they do it differently and he becomes the new Alpha of the whisperers and tries to fight ricks people again, however simply because of Judith I strongly believe that he will not do that.

  5. How many times are y’all going to say this. The show was great then and still is. If you have a problem with it then don’t watch.

  6. Only thing I’m annoyed with still is that they killed off Carl i was upset with the show for a long time until i saw Judith on screen I’m upset ricks gone also but right
    Now the show is doing great negan is keeping me interested so is Judith and the whisperers

  7. I agree with the article. I don’t care for the character of Negan at all. I’m also still upset over the loss of Glenn and Abraham. Also the loss of Carl. This show used to be good. Not so much anymore.

  8. The only thing I was annoyed about was how they took a 6 episode plot and stretched it out 2 whole seasons. There’s so much filler it became a borefest waiting for anything to happen. A whole month of the walking dead would slide by and you could literally skip those episodes and still know what was going on.

    And that Negan cliffhanger thing was wrong to do the fans that way. We gave you viewership dedication and in return you make us wait 7 months to see what happened…. Scott betrayed trust there.

    The ratings aren’t picking up because Scott gave Angela a pile of trash for her to fix and she hasn’t a clue what to do with it. So it’s like she’s taking Scott’s trash and just letting it sit there collecting flies.

  9. I fully agree with your statement Tammy. I was a huge walking dead fan back in Glen Mazzara days and Scott’s early days. But every since the introduction of Negan it’s like the writing for this show was kicked out the door.

    It wasn’t the same after Glen and Abraham I could deal with it though. When they killed Carl I saw the quality of the show fading away. Then when Rick left it’s just nothing but a huge mess now. I’m surprised it’s even still on the air to be honest. It insults me knowing what was once a good show better than most the garbage you see these days turned to crap cause someone decided they want to change the show.

  10. Agree with this too. Alot of comic book stuff is way too unrealistic to be shown in any form in a world you are trying to show realism.

    But if we want to be realistic. Negan! How is he supposedly in charge of so many people that hate him. And some of his generals hated him too.

  11. I love Megan! His character has evolved as it should. The loss of great actors that played major characters, ie ,Abraham, Glen, and Carl, are what give it depth and the significant emotional reaction needed to keep the audience on their toes. As the series continues, one should expect things to change. I watch to see what going to happen next. A fan from the beginning, and will be a fan to the end!

  12. I don’t; haven’t seen it since Rick left, but when Negan came on the scene, it got really bad because of the brutal death and emasculating of Rick’

    I also wanted Rick to take him out and was very disappointed; besides that no one messes with Rick and gets by with it!

    That has been the thing about Rick is his people as safe as they can be from the start! Did he makes dumb choices sometimes? Yes! He did the best he could considering the situation!

    Just in case of misunderstanding, I just wanting to see the ratings is why I’m responding, not because I watch the show and I said it would go down when Rick left and it has!

  13. Negan’s arrival and the absolute darkness and dread of those 2 episodes was for me some of the best, most daring hours of television. It was powerful stuff. It was disturbing on a level that The Walking Dead never had reached before (Hershel’s execution was close). I felt so many emotions and was completely blown away. I cried and screamed at the TV and that is what great television should do. There were more graphic scenes on the show than the executions of Glen and Abraham. It bothered a lot of people because they loved those characters and to see them die in such a horrific way was too much for some I guess. But to give up watching I think was an overreaction for many of the viewers. What kind of show did they think they were watching? Not to mention that they killed Glen in the same awful way in the comic books and the actor himself said he wanted that to be his death on the show, to stay true to the source material. I enjoyed Negan’s antics and brutality. I do agree that season 8 was the worst season of The Walking Dead but it had it’s moments and I enjoyed it for the most part. Too bad the people who stopped watching don’t know what they’re missing with the excellent season 9 and current season.

  14. I find it just separated the true fans from the phonies… I love Negan! Admitted the character development sucked but I still loved the storylines throughout seven and eight!

  15. The Glen under a dumpster cliffhanger also turned a lot of people off. Many viewers emotionally let Glen go already just to find out he survived to die immediately after. It was a bad stunt to keep people talking about the show between seasons. And I personally felt like Abraham was a bad choice to kill off (thankfully Michael Cudlitz is back directing and we still get to see him on the after show every now and again). They fell into a trap of developing characters just enough to make their death have any shock value. I don’t blame Negan for the downfall. In a lot of ways they made Rick do stupid things that enabled the crappy storyline. Scott Gimple put the show in a tailspin that Angela Kang somehow pulled out of.

  16. You’re kidding with this statement, Right??!! Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan brought more life to TWD. If Negan had not have shown up the show would have boring! Negan is who “made” TWD when he came in at S6. He brought more viewers, more action, more of everything that the other characters were failing at. If nothing else, Negan brought more comedy to TWD instead of the mundane drama. Negan lit the fire that TWD was in dire need of.

  17. I don’t think it had anything to do with the character of Negan. I think viewers got tired of seeing their favorite characters getting written out of the show and killed off. There is confusion about “What and who is this show really about?” And “who are the main characters of the show?” The walkers? That’s dumb!!

  18. I’m sorry to say that I have to agree with John. This is another reason for low ratings.

  19. I like Negan. Ratings went down because Rick left, and then that whole jump ahead five years was dumb.

  20. The episode where Glen and Abraham were killed by Negan was kind of over the top, but I didn’t like what happened after that. The gang was split off into too many different groups, and they would spend a whole episode on just one group. Nothing was happening. Negan and his group were horrible, and everyone wanted to fight them, but, that whole season was just too boring! That is when I lost interest. I used to absolutely LOVE this show! I hope to get back into it someday.

  21. I love Negan, and how he has progressed! The decline has to do with rhe killing off of its major characters. So many gone that you just don’t know what the show is really about any longer – to find others alive and build a place to live. Since I have never read the comics version, I don’t care if it follows that version closely. I just love the show and hate for it to end. Bring some of the characters back that we don’t know are actually dead. Please don’t kill the show.

  22. I think it was because so many beloved characters were killed. I personally love the character. Loved the comics, and I am currently rocking my Daryl print sweat shirt (swear to God)!! I am devastated the series is ending.

  23. Negan put the fire under TWD!!!!! Some people get too obsessed with characters and forget it’s not real. He has not deserved the the negative comments. The show really got interesting when Jeffrey Dean Morgan came along!!!!!

  24. For many people I knew who watched the show at that time they loved Jeffery but they stopped watching because the shows storyline began to drag and became boring and Ricks personality changed.

  25. Negan is a heartless cold blooded murderer & killing the walkers is ok because the are already dead but to kill innocent people that are beloved character a is heartless.

  26. We live in Senoia and our town has been changed forever because that show. Negan and what he did to Glynn did it for us. He was too brutal and it just was uncalled for. I blame the writers for not
    Understanding what a great show it was and Negan and his bat was just too much , especially in front of Maggie. Then Carl does, Ricks gone all the best actors left so no point in watch the show. The show got lost along the way

  27. Jeffery dean Morgan is one of my favorite actors. But the storyline of negan was drawn out to long and the weeks they had Daryl captive was boring I think getting rid of Carl and Rick was the downfall mostly. Everyone knew glen and Abraham was leaving.

  28. I disagree!! Negan was the catalyst for so many great scenes! Yes, you hated him, but whenever he showed up on screen, you know something drastic was about to happen! I loved his warped humor and was glad they didn’t kill him off!! They were some of the best parts of all 10 seasons!! I actually did not like the Whisperers story and all the characters they killed off!! Especially Tara!! But looking fwd to the 6 more episodes and the Rick movies and Daryl and Carol’s ride into the future together!

  29. I absolutely agree with this article. But I haven’t missed a show. Negan as a tyrant should have only been one season. It was drug out far too long. And the whisperers should have only been one season as well. I was glad when they finally ended it. They have to bring the characters to life again. No love scenes or special moments anymore. Losing glen, Rick, Carl & Michonne is what really did it in! Bring them back & watch the ratings go up! Do a back story. Dreams. Something.

  30. Finally someone figured it out! Yes the show began a HUGE decline with the introduction of the Negan character. My wife and I were HUGE fans of the show from the beginning (went to the walker stalker conventions) but the introduction of Negan began a downward spiral in interest of the shows. We held on as long as we could but ultimately lost all interest in the show. It’s so sad as we are not tv show people but TWD was so different. We have said that we were going to catch up with the show on Netflix but simply have not done it yet. We had read about the Negan character for so long and then he finally arrived and it killed the show for us.

  31. Negan was great and I loved the character he bought to the show all through the time he has been there
    It was the killing off of two ppl from the group that was just way too awful and then Carl going – It was too much
    The show lacked happy times the further they got into the series – all doom and gloom

  32. Can you elaborate on this so called socal and political agenda? Bcuz I absolutely saw none and never heard of anyone else speak of one either.

  33. People aren’t, and that’s what this whole blog is about. Lol if you truly love the show, then you should be encouraging people to watch it. Because when viewership drops, so does the funds for the show, that then causes the show to end. So be careful of what you’re saying when saying that!

  34. Well…why do you think ratings went down? I’m sure everyone knows. Lets see..
    -The best of the cast was slowly killed off – Negan was a SAVAGE ( i love him) -It became more about killing mankind to survive, than survivors against walkers. There was nothing that made any sense. What did it for me was Rick’s departure, he left to pursue better and the show sucked at sustaining itself. Scott K. is to blame and now the new show “World beyond” is a kids show. Just terrible, there will never be ANOTHER TWD…EVER!!!!!

  35. Neagan needs to be the leader of Ricks group, turn good!! Find love and kick other groups ass. Build a bigger city turn life back to good, find a vaccine to make people well again and not turn into zombies anymore

  36. I feel that it went the same direction as the series ‘Lost’. It became a bunch of people walking around in the woods with no direction for the viewer. The show was boring and seemed hopeless so I moved on.

  37. That scene where he beat Megan’s boyfriend to death will haunt me for the rest of my life! Not good tv stopped watching it was sickening.

  38. It was the arrival of Negan that saw viewers drop. It was the sheer disrespect of a fan base by leaving them with the historically worst cliff hanger, which left many angry and unwilling to return. Viewers knew someone important was going to be murdered by Negan but to disrespect your fans by thinking they will only return if you give them nothing was undoubtedly the end of the Walking Dead.

  39. Scott Gimple was THE problem and STILL is. The franchise through too much money behind the spin-offs. Angela Kang has been great however, you can still see whenever gimple gets his grubby hands into it. That man looks like he is strung out bad. I love this show and I’m going to watch it till the end. But Scott gimple was the big problem. I should have kept Frank Darabont as the showrunner!

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