On May 29, Collider broke the news that Andrew Lincoln would be hanging up his gun at the end of Season 9 of AMC’s The Walking Dead. The article also revealed that Lincoln would only take part in six episodes next season — missing about 10 episodes, if the series gets a full 16 episode order.
The 44-year-old British actor and his portrayal of Rick Grimes has been the rock with which this series was built upon. So the news of his departure comes as a quite a shock, and actually begs a very serious question.
Can The Walking Dead survive without Rick Grimes?
In this writer’s opinion, the answer is unequivocally no.
Now before I go into my full explanation let me throw in this proviso — The Walking Dead will more than likely continue even after Lincoln’s departure.
No show on AMC even comes close to the ratings of The Walking Dead. Yes, the ratings have gone down dramatically. Looking at the chart below from Wikipedia you’ll see that the Season 8 premiere was down nearly six points from Season 7, and the finale was down nearly three points from the previous year as well (which itself was down three points from Season 6).
But no matter what these numbers tell you — the other shows on AMC do not hold a candle to these ratings. Better Call Saul, Preacher, Fear the Walking Dead, and Into the Badlands — the channels other mainstay programs — don’t even come close to the numbers The Walking Dead do. Nor do any of them garner the high end advertising, or the cross-over marketing appeal this series does.
So, even though Lincoln will depart, AMC will likely ride this show out until the ratings reflect the hollow, undead walkers that stalk the series.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way.
There is no way The Walking Dead survives without Andrew Lincoln. He has been the Tom Brady of the series — always there, always delivering no matter whose surrounding him. His sheer presence alone has buoyed the series, especially in recent years when a number of major cast members departed the series.
Frankly, he’s been the crutch of the series as the writers have not done much to create new, main characters for audiences to sink their teeth into.
Now I know what you must be thinking — what about Maggie, or Morgan? Certainly they could carry the show in his absence? Well, let’s not forget that Chandler Riggs (a huge loss himself), wasn’t the only departure last season. Lennie James’ Morgan has gone South and has joined Fear the Walking Dead (most likely in hopes to jump start the sagging ratings).
If there’s no more Rick Grimes, Maggie being the focus of the series would actually work. She’s this great, strong, fierce yet relatable character that a lot of people could get behind.
But…
The Collider article reminded us that Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie, will also appear in only six episodes next season. It also stated that she will be starring in a new ABC series, Whiskey Cavalier. Just as the series positioned Maggie as a major power player next season, she’s only limited to a handful of episodes…and she could potentially be leaving.
So as it stands once Lincoln, and most likely Cohan, depart the series it will leave Michonne (Danai Gurrira), Daryl (Norman Reedus), Carol (Melissa McBride), and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as lead characters. All four are strong actors and characters, but they’ve all functioned as great supporting characters.
The Collider article points to the series pivoting to Reedus’ Daryl Dixon as the eventual successor to Rick Grimes as the show’s lead. I don’t see this working. Daryl Dixon is a fan favorite because he’s a silent but deadly character. His dialogue is limited, and it works. His character does not lend itself to be a series carrier as much as it does a scene stealer.
The same goes with Negan on the opposite end of the spectrum. He’s a dynamic villain, but one that works best off a great hero. And how can this series justify what they built up as its most despicable villain as the lead of the series? That’s like making Ramsey Bolton or Tywin Lannister the lead on Game of Thrones.
Maybe Negan and Daryl can have a good cop/bad cop tandem lead situation. But, that would require a lot of good writing — something the show hasn’t proved itself to be capable of.
Melissa McBride’s Carol has been a real emotional core for the series. However, her character has been written as a reluctant participant in the wars. She could work as the series’ focus, but there’s something I can’t put my finger on.
As for Gurrira — Michonne in the lead would be the most interesting direction for the series. Michonne is a great character, and could easily carry the show. However, after two successful turns in the MCU, are her days on the series numbered as well?
In regards to the rest of the cast, there’s not much left. Ross Marquand’s Aaron should be given more to do since Marquand is a fairly charismatic actor. He could easily become a new fan favorite, but again still not enough of a character to lead the show. His appearance in a certain film this summer might see him bidding Alexandria farewell though.
We’ve read rumors that Enid — quite possibly one of the worst characters in the series — will have a much bigger role this coming season. Woof. Who else is left then? Tara? Eugene? A returning Dwight? Father Gabriel? Jadis? Siddiq? All side characters.
None of them have the history with the audience that Rick Grimes does. He’s had the bulk of the big emotional speeches throughout the series. He’s driven the narrative. He’s had the fate of all the characters in the palm of his hand. In short — he is the series.
Now for that character to be taken from the series — a series that has lost, and is losing key cast members that could replace him — you’re basically doing a hard reset on the entire series. You have to build a whole new power structure for the series. Supporting characters need to be smartly elevated into leading roles. New and/or minor characters need to be transitioned into much bigger roles in the same logical, and intelligent manner.
And that’s a bit frigthening when it comes to The Walking Dead.
This series has not had a great track record recently of making logical, or intelligent choices. It falls back way too much big walker massacres when things get to dull, and it often strays from the main narrative to dawdle in pointless storylines, and characters we have no attachment to, or interest in.
Losing Rick Grimes is like the Patriots losing Tom Brady. The entire team has to take a new course and since this character, like Brady, is so entrenched in the culture and the narrative of this franchise — how do you go on without him? The answer is you do, but unlike a football team, a television show only can do so much before it meets its demise.
I think while AMC might prop up The Walking Dead for another few years post-Andrew Lincoln — ultimately this series will slowly limp into its demise.
Do you think The Walking Dead can survive without Rick Grimes? Let us know in the comments?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqAe6A7s5iY
