Why The Walking Dead Might Get Cancelled

3. The Big Change Didn't Work

The worrying thing for The Walking Dead fans is that we're not looking at the possibility of a period of trouble-shooting that would cut deadwood and refocus the show onto something better to blow away the cobwebs that have been forming. It's literally already happened and it simply isn't working out.

Yes, a show focused more on Daryl and Michonne (with flashback returns of some other favourites) will mark a more tangible change, The Walking Dead already rearranged things significantly before this season kicked off in an attempt to bring fans back and to stop others from jumping ship.

Key writer Angela Kang was elevated to showrunner and she jumped the show forward two years to mark serious difference and to inject new life through difference. It wasn't so much jumping the shark as jump-starting it. Even the title sequence changed to herald this brave new period and unfortunately, it hasn't worked. The ratings slump continues and the ground hasn't been steadied before Lincoln's departure. That's got to be a worry.

If AMC start to realise that the first part of their grand scheme didn't work, how long until the entire thing goes from being a rescue attempt to being a project more focused on saving face?