Once the highest-rated series in US cable television history, ‘The Walking Dead’ is officially on its last legs.
The record-breaking zombie show will conclude in 2022 after a monster-sized 11th season spanning 24 episodes, network AMC said in a statement Wednesday.
“It’s been ten years ‘gone bye;’ what lies ahead are two more to come and stories and stories to tell beyond that,” said co-creator Scott Gimple.
Launched in 2010, the post-apocalyptic horror series repeatedly shattered cable audience records, peaking with the season five premiere in 2014, which drew 17.3 million viewers.
But audiences began declining steeply in 2017.
While the flagship show is now being killed off, the lucrative ‘Walking Dead’ franchise has a lengthy afterlife planned.
AMC is forging ahead with a new spin-off focused on the characters Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride), to premiere in 2023.
A separate, anthology-style series will feature stand-alone episodes or groups of episodes focusing on individual characters — both existing favourites and new.
No release date was announced.