The Walking Dead isn’t flatlining yet, but its ratings sure could be better. This Sunday’s lackluster midseason finale for the show’s seventh season didn’t help it’s falling ratings. Last month The Walking Dead's ratings reportedly fell to numbers last seen in season three, before the show became the ratings juggernaut we would all come to know and love.
Vulturereported the seventh midseason finale scored 10.6 million same day viewers, down from the season six midseason finale, when 14 million viewers tuned in. Numbers were also down from TWD’s season seven premiere when 17 million viewers, matching the series’ ratings records, tuned in to see who Negan had whacked (pun intended). Many viewers stopped watching the show altogether after Glenn’s death (Sorry Abraham).
Viewership numbers stayed about the same throughout the first half of season seven. Episode 5 of season 7, for instance, got a about 11 million viewers. Sunday’s numbers, it should be noted, aren’t set in stone— they are expected to rise as much as 40 to 50 percent when numbers for DVR viewings roll in.
It’s not all bad news. While TWD’s 25 to 54 audience has decreased nine percent from last fall, it’s faring just as well as other long running shows like Criminal Minds and NCIS, which saw a 15 percent and 13 percent decrease in audiences respectively.
The Walking Dead isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, having already being renewed for another season and possibly a movie down the line. With the back half of season seven coming in February, it's certainly possible that TWD’s ratings could come back from the dead.
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