The Walking Dead apparently doesn’t need Rick Grimes to survive AMC’s apocalyptic ax. It’s doing well enough on its own, according to the network, which has renewed cable’s premier zombie drama for a tenth season.
AMC made the announcement on Twitter with a video featuring Samantha Morton’s Alpha and her creepy band of flesh-wearing Whisperers. Check it out below:
The renewal should quiet skeptics who have been wondering since the beginning of season 9 whether the show still has the legs to shamble on. It’s no secret that the last few years have been rough for The Walking Dead in terms of viewership. After the show posted its weakest ratings for a season premiere since season 2, with only 9.36 million viewers watching the season 9 opener, the viewership has continued to decline over the weeks, falling to 4.79 million during episode 7 before a slight improvement during the midseason finale, which posted 5.09 million viewers.
But while it’s been a weak year in the ratings — although not as bad when compared to many of AMC’s other, more niche offerings — the show has continued to improve its storytelling. Under new showrunner Angela Kang, the series has seen three major shakeups that have brought back a bit of energy to the post-apocalyptic proceedings: the year-and-a-half time jump in the season opener, Rick and Maggie’s exit in episode 5, and a six-year time jump directly after that.
Let’s not forget the introduction of the Whisperers, a new faction of villains that fans of the show have been clamoring for since last season. The debut of this twisted group left a major character dead and the lives of a few other beloved characters in limbo. The second half the season will flesh out the story of these knife-wielding maniacs and introduce their ruthless leader, Alpha, the show’s new big bad. It’s likely that we’ll get a few more deaths along the way, too…
The Walking Dead season 10 air date
The Walking Dead season 10 will arrive in October 2019.