It's been a long run for The Walking Dead franchise, and it isn't quite over yet. We know for a fact that spinoff Daryl Dixon will return for its fourth and final season next year and TWD boss Scott M. Gimple has confirmed that there are plans for more project in AMC's near-future. There's also the other spinoff, Dead City, which is awaiting its fate after completing its third season - a wait that has fans on the edge of their seats.
The Maggie and Negan spinoff was the most divisive of the new wave of TWD Universe shows, with many criticizing it for its pacing, miserable tone, and overall refusal to move forward. However, the recently-wrapped season 3 changed things entirely, giving it the overhaul that it needed. Fans responded extremely well to the changes, with the vast majority of its audience (critics included) calling it the best season so far.
However, there is one element of the third season that may have thrown its fate into jeopardy...
Dead City season 3 premiered low for the TWD Universe
The season 3 premiere of The Walking Dead: Dead City premiered to 297,000 viewers on AMC. While that doesn't account for the streaming numbers on AMC+ (which were undoubtedly much, much larger than that), it is among the least-watched episodes of the Walking Dead franchise ever when it comes to the linear AMC channel, with only three episodes of season 2 and all episodes of Daryl Dixon's third season being lower than that.
The on-the-night ratings for subsequent episodes weren't even recorded, which is another disconcerting sign - especially as one report claims that the viewership numbers for the second and third episodes were in the realm of 190K - 240K. If those episodes did end up on the lower end of those reported numbers, then that would likely make them the least-watched episodes in TWD history.
There is a silver lining here, however. While franchise fatigue plays a part in almost all ratings drop-offs at some point, the sharp drops that the recent seasons of Dead City and Daryl Dixon faced is more down to the state of television in general. Back during the good old days of The Walking Dead - when the franchise was capable of pulling in anywhere between 10 - 17 million viewers in its peak - people still consumed TV on the night. And you couldn't find a show that was more appointment-viewing than TWD. Since then, however, the rise of streaming has changed the way people watch TV, with less watching on the night and more catching up and watching on delay. You can watch things when suit you instead of tuning in live.
That's where Dead City's successes come in. The third season performed very well for the AMC+ streaming platform once again, holding onto the No. 1 spot all throughout its run. Considering that this was the show that set the record for the highest-watched premiere in the streamer's history (before Daryl Dixon and, then, Rick and Michonne-led spinoff The Ones Who Live eclipsed it), it's a good sign that it is still performing well for the service three seasons in - especially as there was a two-year gap between seasons 1 and 2. The TWD Universe spinoffs are, after all, AMC+ originals, so it makes sense that this is where they find their biggest audiences.
The question is: Why hasn't Dead City season 4 been greenlit yet? AMC's Chief Content Officer of The Walking Dead Universe, Scott Gimple, confirmed that it has yet to be renewed by AMC when offering an update, saying that they have reason to be hopeful considering its strong performance, but that there are also other plans for the future of the TWD Universe.
The ratings story is a bittersweet one, really, as it shows a tale of two halves. Dead City is still seemingly a strong performer for AMC+ but, like with most shows these days, less people feel the need to tune into the Walking Dead franchise on the night. Here's hoping that the frs half of that tale is enough to guarantee Dead City another season. It deserves it!
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