The Walking Dead Season 8

Yeah when it didn't come on I assumed it was the mid season break,

 

So this was just announced ...
Andrew Lincoln to Exit 'The Walking Dead' in Season 9

 

Glad I got rid of my bD collection now, seems Andrew Lincoln is leaving the show, season 9.

 

How can Andrew Lincoln leave the show? I really hope they just end the show when that happens. He's supposed to be the central character!

 

I don't have a horse in this race having given up on this show years ago. But why make this announcement? Nothing would get more people talking about him dying than the shock of the surprise of it happening.

 

If the network really wanted the show to carry on; lose 2 to 3 cast members and pay the lead whatever it takes. TWD is not a show w/o Rick. They killed off the heir apparent but, this is Rick's story.

 

Same here. I stopped watching this seasons ago, but just checked in to see what people were saying about this. A friend told me about the announcement and was bothered by them announcing it in advance. And I agree. Whether they plan to kill him off or just have him go off on his own somewhere (which would leave open the possibility of a limited return sometime), I don't see why they announced it in advance. I'm very anti-spoiler, and this is a wasted opportunity. They could have really generated some buzz with a surprise Rick death. Whatever his departure turns out to be, it will be anti-climactic now.

 

Clearly A&E have lost the plot.

 

From the little I have read, Lincoln is jumping, not being pushed. But it will demand a hefty reinvention of the show once he is gone. My former student Lauren Cohan is also on her way out!

 

I’m actually thrilled he’s leaving as this could shake things up a bit vs. the find new place, find new baddie, fight, move to another new place, rinse and repeat. And the whole point of announcing it now is to get more people watching to see how it happens. Not announcing it doesn’t help ratings one bit.

 

Wow, that's kind of a shock. I can't imagine how they'd go forward from there. Perhaps they are going to pull a surprise ending on the whole series. I don't really see viewership (which is already declining) getting any better without Andrew Lincoln.

 

Yeah, this was announced in this very thread, yesterday.

Right. It's supposed to be Rick's story, at least as a leader, but since he's turned into one of the worst all-time leaders in television history, maybe his departure will do the show some good.

It's a double-edged sword, isn't it? Rick leaves and people stop watching. It might make the show better since they've written Rick into so many corners, but what if very few are watching the "better" show?

I smell doom on the horizon for TWD. I don't think their able to win anymore, but I'll reserve judgment until I watch Season 9.

 

If they manage to do a 180 with season 9 and really take it off in a new fresh direction, with solid stories, tight script, good character development, especially with new characters introduced, then maybe people will have a renewed interest. Maybe Andrew leaving is what it needs. Have Daryl step up so his character can really be fleshed out and taken in a new direction as "the new leader of the group". Other than having an issue with Dwight,imprisoned by Negan, Daryl has been mostly relegated to a background character with not a lot to contribute except look sullen and mistrustful and always pissed off, which was getting old. Same thing with Carol and even Michone. We've invested so much time in these characters that they're played out. Now this new group that Maggie stumbled on who want to exchange knowledge for goods looks promising. I'm personally interested see what direction the story is going to take us and who these people are.

 

Time Jump!

 

I was under the impression the show was coming to an end anyway.

I stopped watching several seasons ago. I know from reading the comic, Kirkman had considered killing off Rick several times and there was a time jump in the story. Perhaps that could work for the series, but it just feels like it’s on its last legs; Rick or no.

 

It would not surprise me if he is not killed. Unfettered to Carl, they can have a plot where he either gets separated from the group or actively chooses to leave it.

Then, if the show is still on the air in a few years, he can always come back if doing other things doesn't work out as well as he hopes.

 

AMC didn't announce it. It was independently reported.

 

Shark Jump!

 

The funny thing is that I think that FEAR THE WALKING DEAD has really found it's sea legs and has been putting out some pretty excellent episodes of the past season and a half or so.

 

I would not be surprised if the two shows merge after Rick is gone.

The ratings trend may be indicating that there isn't a good market for two Walking Dead shows any more. Now that each show is dealing with the departure of major characters, it may make the most sense just to merge them.

 

...and they are on the same timeline now so perhaps that has been the (hidden) plan for a while.

 

Maybe he’ll find the cure and this show can die for the good man human kind.

 

Negan will take him out...I ain't quittin and if Negan took Rick's place as top dog I'd be cool with that...at least we'd have less whining...Rick is done...

 

I feel the opposite...they've wimped out Madison and Morgan. Got rid of a main character just killed off a promising character and brought in a scuzzy reporter (I do like Maggie Grace though in other roles)...LOL IT SUCKS!

 

A lot of folks coming out of the woodwork with the latest news

I'm fine with it. I look forward to seeing what Andrew Lincoln will do next. We've seen some past exits work out fine for the actor and audience.

I don't see AMC killing their top show as a result. Plus it could be an opportunity for revitalization.