So- rumor has is that AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead may be coming back in July instead of October, according to Breaking Bad actor: Bryan Cranston.
In an offhand comment made during an interview with NYmag.com, he told the interviewer that Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead were all being pushed to July as a “sensible” way to get more viewers watching AMC shows over other networks.
It was a decision from AMC that they wanted to position us in July, along with Mad Men. And I believe they’re going to put Walking Dead in July as well. I think it’s just a sensible thing — they want to attract as many eyeballs as possible, away from the heavy competition of the September, November, January start.
If this is true in the least, I will applaud the foresight of AMC… you see, in my opinion- even though The Walking Dead is an amazing show- if they had waited an ENTIRE YEAR to bring it back- they would have lost viewers.
The first season was a measly 6 episodes long, and with the inundation of ALL the other shows on ALL the other networks, no matter the quality of the show- 6 episodes, then a FULL year’s wait could cause the average TV viewer to just forget it was there in the first place.
I mean- erratic scheduling makes me forget about shows like Psych and Eureka until about 3 or 4 months after the next season has already started, and I find myself in a long game of catch up… but then again, without an actual TV, I’m not your average television viewer…
And… I guess that the BBC does short series all the time and gets away with it… but they have a different culture of viewership over the pond…. Maybe I’m just really looking forward to Sunday evenings back at Brewvies…?
So am I right? Is making someone wait too long a bad thing…? Or do you believe that “absence makes the heart grow fonder”?