The Walking Dead: Ranking All 9 Seasons From Worst To Best

After two seasons of plummeting ratings, critical backlash, and an ever-increasing sense of fatigue, The Walking Dead shambled into its ninth season under new leadership in the form of longtime writer Angela Kang, who took over showrunning duties from Scott Gimple. That she was able to inject new life into the series, course-correcting the show back into the welcoming arms of critics and fans alike is no minor miracle, even if ratings had no chance of returning to the show's heyday simply because the damage has been done.

Not only did the show have to deal with clawing its way back up from its lowest point, it had to do so with the departure of its own lead, Andrew Lincoln, who left - along with Lauren Cohan - in the fifth episode. As such, season nine jumped ahead in time for a much-needed brand new start, something that allowed for communities to flourish and characters to start acting normal again, like Daryl, who was given more to say in a handful of episodes than he'd had total across multiple seasons.

Though the season saw the loss of characters like Gregory and Jesus, along with all those lost in the incredible pike sequence, new blood like Connie, Luke, Lydia, Beta, and Alpha - among others - helped rejuvenate the series, each fitting in well with the veteran cast, many of whom also got to shine, whether it be Michonne in "Scars" or Negan through his dynamic with Judith. In many ways, without Rick, the show was able to reboot itself, giving many fans who stuck around hope that season ten can continue the series' uphill climb.