Why The Walking Dead Is Ending

3. The Source Material Will Only Last Until Season 12

It's not just that the comics have finished which explains why The Walking Dead is coming to a close after Season 12, it's where in the story the comics finished.

The series wrapped up shortly after Eugene led Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors to the Commonwealth, a huge community unlike even the network Alexandria built up.

The thing is, that storyline is already in motion in the TV show, and even in this first half of Season 10, the seeds are being planted for an adaptation of the comics' endgame.

Two and a half more seasons of story would easily give the writers the space to build to the same finale as the source material, and that isn't just speculation either.

Back in 2016, Robert Kirkman estimated that by the time the show reaches Season 12, it will have reached issue 200 of the comic, judging by the current rate at which it was adapting his story. However, this was obviously before plans to end the comic were revealed, and the book only made it to issue 193.

By the creator's estimations then, the show will run out of material by the time it hits Season 12, which could have absolutely influenced AMC's decision.