Why The Walking Dead Is Ending

5. Current Star Contracts End In 2022 (And Will Be Pricey To Renew)

In 2018, the contracts for a bunch of core cast members were up, and AMC negotiated a massive deal with key stars to keep them around for three more years. These new contracts wouldn't just cover The Walking Dead either, but were described as "franchise deals", allowing them to jump from show to show (or movie to movie) set in this universe, depending on whether they'd be needed for AMC's planned spin-offs.

It was a win for the network, especially after losing the show's lead in Andrew Lincoln and a key player in Lauren Cohan, but it didn't come cheap. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal to keep Norman Reedus alone cost the network anywhere from $50 million to $90 million, while Melissa McBride netted $20 million for the three years.

This is already a hefty chunk of change to pay out to two cast members, but it's made even worse for AMC who were reportedly underpaying the stars for years prior. THR reported that the two made a mere $8,500 an episode back in Season 2, and similar reports claimed that up to around Season 7, even lead Lincoln was paid under $100,000 per episode, which paled in comparison to key stars from shows with much lower ratings than TWD.

Consequently, with the show waning in viewers, another big pay day for key stars when their contracts are up after Season 12 (and a bump up for other actors whose stars have risen on the show like Ross Marquand) might simply make The Walking Dead too costly for AMC.