The Walking Dead is easily one of the most popular shows on television. And even though some may think that the show has run its course, series star Tom Payne (Jesus) is of the opinion, "It's a soap opera like any other."
The post-apocalyptic zombie series, based on Image comics of the same name, premiered in October 2010. And over its nine-year journey, the series has also had a spin-off called Fear The Walking Dead. AMC Network also announced they were developing a spin-off movie based on its lead character Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes).
During a talk at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference (via THR), Josh Sapan stated that the franchise still has a bright and long future ahead. "We have an awful lot of life left in The Walking Dead — I mean decades and decades of life left," he said.
"Decades" might sound like a stretch coming from the CEO, with both Fear The Walking Dead and the original series hitting all-time low ratings. A drop in viewers eventually leads to the demise of a series but AMC has continued to remain hopeful over the years and has overcome some bumps.
Even with the exit of one of the leads, the show has survived and its latest season was acclaimed by critics and fans alike. Furthermore, a crossover of characters like Morgan (Lennie James) to FTWD has helped both shows to prosper together.
Unfortunately, The Walking Dead season 9 still had a continued rating dip till the finale. Moreover, the show will lose yet another series regular with the exit of Danai Gurira (Michonne) in Season 10.
The three feature films from TWD universe were initially set to release on AMC. But earlier this year at San Diego Comic-con, the network confirmed through a teaser that Rick Grimes' return will be "only in theatres", revealing the movies had landed theatrical distribution.
