Just because interest in the original AMC series was waning, doesn’t mean the rest of the “TWD” universe won’t find an audience.
,the walking deadhas become a flagship series for AMC and one of the most successful shows on TV. With global appeal and a back catalog of 10 previous seasons, the show has also helped fuel streaming platforms around the world that have licensed the rights to the show. However, according to data from Parrot Analytics, demand for the 11th and final season failed to reach the high levels of other recent seasons, including consumer research, streaming, downloads and social media, among other engagements.
AMC’s decision to wrap up the show after eleven seasons and focus on developing the franchise through spinoffs looks like a typical move.
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Season 9 of “The Walking Dead” had its most successful premiere in five years, with global demand for the show reaching 96 times that of an average show in its first week. The show’s 10th season saw some of its highest levels of demand globally in March and April of 2020, benefiting from many people’s firsthand experience with pandemic-era lockdowns.
While demand for most of the show’s 11th season may not have reached the peak of last season, it remains quite high as fans around the world return each week to see how the long-running series will end. The show still managed to end on a high note ranking as the No. 1 most sought after show globally for four days of its finale, reaching 112.7 times the average series demand on 22 November.
Global Demand for Seasons 9-11 of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” (Parrot Analytics)
The best days of “The Walking Dead” may be behind it, but the franchise’s longest-running spinoff to date, “fear the walking dead,” is still at its peak, showing a steady increase in demand with each successive season. Its most recent seventh season averaged 29.3 times the average series demand in its first 30 days and peaked at 42 times. It should be noted that this is still well below the level of demand that the original series was able to attract. With an eighth season currently in production, it remains to be seen whether fans of the “Fear the Walking Dead” franchise Or if we can expect demand for the franchise to spawn multiple spinoff series going forward.
Global Demand for Seasons 3-7 of AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead” (Parrot Analytics)
The future of “The Walking Dead” franchise will lie with its many spinoffs. In addition to the original series and “Fear the Walking Dead”, currently in the “TWD” universetales of the walking dead,” an anthology spinoff that premiered in August, and “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” a limited series that completed its two-season run last year.
There are also three planned spinoffs that have been announced: “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” (starring Norman Reedus), “The Walking Dead: Dead City” (starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and a currently untitled series featuring Is. Rick and Michonne, characters from the original series (Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira).
American talent sought out for stars of AMC’s “TWD” spin-off (Parrot Analytics)
To get an idea of how receptive audiences might be to these new series, we can look at what audiences are currently demanding for their leads. Most of the actors set to star in the upcoming spinoff already had an excellent level of demand, inspired by their roles on the original series by existing fans. Morgan (29.9 times average talent demand) beat out Reedus (29.3 times) with a slightly higher demand during the final stretch of “TWD” — a good sign for the upcoming “Dead City.” Gurira’s demand increased during the final episode of “TWD” and peaked at 46 times. Her increased viewership should fuel the untitled series she’s set to star in alongside Lincoln.
With a strong universe at its core built over many years, the growing “Walking Dead” franchise is built on a solid foundation. Existing spinoffs such as “Fear the Walking Dead” have already been successful and continue to attract more viewers. The high demand for leads for the upcoming spinoff series is just another sign that this franchise still has room to grow.
