Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) was the face of The Walking Dead for almost nine full seasons. Lincoln was central to the show’s success; with him as the frontman, The Walking Dead became one of the biggest things on television for several years running. So when he left midway through season 9, everyone was worried: “We thought might kill the show,” showrunner Angela Kang told NME. “We did wonder if there was a show without Rick,” Kang admitted. “But then we thought: ‘Yes, of course there can be The Walking Dead without Rick!”
After Rick’s exit, the rest of the cast picked up the slack, especially Daryl (Norman Reedus), Carol (Melissa McBride), Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Aaron (Ross Marquand). The show has explored some very exciting storylines since; the group has fought the Whisperers, the Reapers, and now they’re embedded in the Commonwealth.
It goes without saying that viewers still miss Rick. You only need to scroll through social media to see fans begging for his return, especially now that AMC is airing the show’s final season. But The Walking Dead hasn’t fallen off a cliff as many predicted. In fact, ratings are higher than they’ve been in years. Angela Kang gave her take on how the series has managed the the transition:
"It’s nice to think that people think [The Walking Dead] is the best it’s been for years. We’ve always tried to make the best version of the show that we could, but sometimes circumstances that are out of your control – like the lead wanting to spend more time with his family – create a huge creative opportunity to just try something new. It can be energizing, because the vacuum left by that character leaving influenced the decisions made going forward."
Andrew Lincoln is poised to return to the Walking Dead Universe in a series of movies about Rick Grimes. However, we’ve heard very few specifics about these movies and some fans are beginning to think that they’ve been scrapped altogether.
Recently, Lincoln was spotted in Atlanta alongside former costar Norman Reedus. Might he be returning to work on the franchise? Or perhaps he just wants to catch up with some friends. We can hope for the former.
New episodes of The Walking Dead season 11 air Sundays on AMC. Fans with an AMC+ subscription can watch new episodes one week early.
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