The Walking Dead season 8 news: Series suffers DEVASTATING hit following Carl Grimes death
THE WALKING DEAD lost a major character recently when Carl Grimes died in the series eight midseason opener, however, it may have come at a price as the show has been dealt a massive blow.
Preview: The Walking Dead season 8 episode 11
Carl (played by Chandler Riggs) suffered a zombie bite on The Walking Dead which lead to his demise on the AMC drama.
Understandably, his father Rick (Andrew Lincoln), was deeply hurt by the news, but it appears as though he isn’t the only one.
Viewers might not be happy with the death of such a big character and the change of direction from the comics.
The evidence comes from the American ratings, which have taken a hit for the current season, as it has reached its lowest numbers since the first series.
When it was aired in the US, Sunday’s episode drew in 6.8 million viewers in the 18 to 49 age bracket, and received a 2.9 Nielsen rating.
It hasn’t received a rating lower than 3.0 since season one’s penultimate episode, Wildfire, which attained 2.8.
Carl’s death may have proved controversial with fans, and could explain why viewers have been switching off.
The teen took his own life with a sniper rifle to save his father and friend Michonne (Danai Gurira) from having to do the deed.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the actor who played Carl, Chandler Riggs, reflected on his exit.
He told them: “I knew it was coming for a long time, but it was weird to think that that would be it.”
Discussing his final day on set, he added: “We were in the sound stage studio and when I walked out everyone had eye patches over their eyes and everyone was clapping and cheering.
“They gave me a hat from season one and a framed T-shirt of one that I wore back in season one. It was definitely hard to get through that speech [to the cast and crew] and that was just a very sad day.”
The programme will definitely be returning for a ninth season, however there will be a shake-up behind the scenes that might help to boost viewing figures.
A brand new role has been created for showrunner Scott Gimple as he becomes the “chief content officer”.
Scott, 46, has said: “The Walking Dead is a special show which started in an entirely different era of TV and continues, in this new era, to confidently take chances to tell compelling stories that excite audiences, to make them deeply connect with its characters, adapting Robert Kirkman’s brilliant comic book."
The writer continued: “As the show closes in on its tenth year, I’m honoured to keep working with the talented, dedicated people behind and in front of the camera to make it all it can be, while expanding the world of it with new narratives like Fear the Walking Dead and a whole host of truly cool stories ahead."
The Walking Dead season 8 airs on FOX UK on Mondays at 9pm.