Posted in: AMC, Opinion, Preview, streaming, TV, TV, Walking Dead | Tagged: amc, amc plus, better call saul, Killing Eve, opinion, walking dead

Walking Dead, Killing Eve & Better Call Saul Fans Have Finale Problems

Okay, this one goes out first-and-foremost to my fellow The Walking Dead universe fans out there, but we also welcome the Killing Eve and Better Call Saul fans to the table because this conversation impacts all three shows. Now, what two things do all three righteously popular shows have in common? From how the calendar is playing out, all three series will be shuffling off the programming coil in 2022 with their final seasons ready to roll. But it's the second thing that they have in common that we want to address again (and yes, we know we've gone down this road once or twice before). With the way that AMC Networks is releasing episodes between AMC and AMC+, fans of all three series run the risk of having their respective finales spoiled a week before they hit cable screens. So once again, we have to put this out there to AMC Networks:

Either release the final episodes at the same time for everyone (no early release on AMC+) or release the final episodes at midnight on AMC+ on the day they air on AMC.

This has been eating at us more and more since August 2021 when we first addressed it, but the point was really driven home late on Saturday when I found myself having to write this about a preview for The Walking Dead Season 11 Part 2 that I was working up:

Okay, this is where the "timey-wimey" stuff between AMC and AMC+ can get a little confusing. So if you're watching The Walking Dead Season 11 Part 2 on AMC, you'll be watching the return episode on Sunday night. But if you're watching on AMC+, then you will have been able to watch the first two episodes by the time "No Other Way" hits cable screens. So the preview that was released today during IGN Fan Fest 2022 isn't for Sunday's night's episode on AMC but for S11E10 "New Haunts," which AMC+ viewers can watch around 3 am ET but AMC viewers won't be able to watch until February 27th. So if you're an AMC watcher, you could be treading into "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" a little more than a week before the episode hits. If you're an AMC+ viewer, then consider the following a preview. WHEW! Everyone got that? Good! Now onto the preview…

So if you're reading this right now and you don't have AMC+ so you're waiting to watch on AMC? Then you have two episodes worth of spoilers to avoid. And trust us, they're out there. Not add in the excitement & energy that comes with beloved shows like The Walking Dead, Killing Eve, and Better Call Saul ending, and you can see how spoilers will become virtually impossible to avoid. Because with these being final episodes, we'll have curious returnees looking to see how it all wraps- and a lot of those folks 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 us than Twitter does. And it has nothing to do with playing the clips because the spoilers are in the video titles and preview images.

Now do AMC+ subscribers deserve some perks with their subscription? Definitely, and that's why we think going with a release strategy that sees the finales going live on the streamer at 12 midnight PT on the day they would air on AMC would be a good way to go. Subscribers still get early access while the spoiler window shrinks dramatically. And with enough time and putting the right spin on it, the theory behind doing this could be sold to the paying faithful. By doing that, AMC would not only be doing what it needed to do to help the fans maintain the emotional impact that comes from not knowing what a series finale will bring but also painting good-faith relations with fans that the network will need to help support new projects like the TWDU spinoffs, the upcoming Anne Rice series adaptations, and more. And at a time when Wall Street seems more concerned about AMC Networks' 2022 than its 2021 Q4 earnings, keeping those viewers committed will be key heading into 2023 as they're presented with a very different programming slate. So it's time to #TWDStopTheDrop… #KEStopTheDrop… #SaulStopTheDrop, AMC.

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