Posted in: AMC, Opinion, Preview, streaming, Trailer, TV, TV, Walking Dead | Tagged: amc plus, commonwealth, opinion, preview, season 11, The Walking Dead, trailer, TWD

The Walking Dead Series Finale: Time to Stop the Drop, AMC (Editorial)

We know it might seem a tad bit early for us to be having "The Talk", AMC. With The Walking Dead a week away still from premiering its' 11th & final season and the series not expected to wrap until late into 2022, there's a ton of the TWDU to explore and a ton of time to do it before the sobfest really kicks in. But you know how things work in the pop culture universe. It's always easier to address a potential problem early than have to deal with a very real problem when it's already too little, too late. So let's talk about the final episode of the long-running series AMC series. More to the point?

We're asking AMC Networks to release the final episode at the same time for everyone- no early release on AMC+.

And as we write that, we already have a feeling that folks might have opinions on this…

First, let me start off by saying that I understand overall why AMCN offers TWD early, and it's actually a compliment to the series. And it's the reason why articles about the show bleeding ratings have been a joke for the past several years. The series has moved beyond just being and a series and has become a serious franchise player, with spinoffs in a number of mediums. Doubt that? Just look at the global streaming rankings from analytics companies like Parrot Analytics to see how well the show does around the world (even when the series isn't in-season). So when you're AMCN and you're starting up a streaming service? You're using your biggest "franchise player" to help bring in subscribers.

But that final episode is going to be an emotional one for millions. Folks like me who came out of a serious health crisis at the same time Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes awake from his coma to a new & seriously changed world. We've felt the joy they feel as they found a way to live on for just one more day, and felt their heartbreak as the world around them continued eating away at their basic humanity. We pushed back against those who wrote off the series with their "show's been bad since the __ season" bullshit as the series went through a renaissance at a point when other shows would be folding up their creative tents and coasting by now.

So can we not set up an environment where we all know spoilers are going to be everywhere? Because since it's the final episode, you'll have those curious returnees looking to see how it all wraps- folks who sometimes aren't as concerned about spoiling things for the diehards as the diehards might be. And then there's the YouTube factor, which spoils episodes more for me than Twitter does. And it has nothing to do with playing the clips. the spoilers come in the video titles and preview images. Does this mean AMCN having to make the decision to pull a major way f bringing in a crapload of new subscribers to AMC+ and potentially pissing off current subscribers? Possibly, but that's where addressing it early comes in. With enough time to let it sink in and process, I'm not seeing a serious level of pushback (especially from the diehards). But for now, let this be the start of a conversation that can make all side feel heard and respected. Because "We Are The Walking Dead". All of us.

Here's a look at the epic first trailer for the return of The Walking Dead that was released during Comic-Con@Home (make sure to stay through to the very end)- and if you think the Reapers look like a different and very dangerous group? That's because they are…

Now here's a look at The Walking Dead: The Final Season Trilogy, with Part One set for Sunday, August 22; Parts Two and Three are set to be unleashed in 2022:

AMC also released four mini-teasers for the long-running series' final run, with "Survivor", "Outnumbered", "Guarded", and "Threatened" offering a greater sense of just how different our heroes' world is about to become:

Previously on "The Walking Dead," our survivors confronted past demons and combated new threats, with friendships and relationships suffering from the mounting collateral damage that is the apocalypse. Alexandria is severely compromised, left a former shell of the home it once was from the carnage and devastation left behind by the Whisperers.

Now all who live in Alexandria struggle to refortify it and feed its increasing number of residents, which include the survivors from the fall of the Kingdom and the burning of Hilltop; along with Maggie and her new group, the Wardens. Alexandria has more people than it can manage to feed and protect. Their situation is dire as tensions heat up over past events and self-preservation rises to the surface within the ravaged walls.

They must secure more food while they attempt to restore Alexandria before it collapses like countless other communities they have come across throughout the years. But where and how? More haggard and hungrier than ever before, they must dig deeper to find the effort and strength to safeguard the lives of their children, even if it means losing their own. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to those at Alexandria, Eugene, Ezekiel, Yumiko, and Princess are still being held captive by mysterious soldiers who are members of a larger and unforthcoming group.

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