Here’s Something The Walking Dead Definitely Won’t Do Next Season

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman is through with cliffhangers. The show's sixth season ended on a major cliffhanger after Negan bashed in the brains of an unknown character. Producers have gone to ridiculous lengths to ensure the identity of the person killed stays hidden. But Kirkman has heard fan frustration and decided that enough is enough. “Look, I think as a creative person I have to acknowledge that all responses are valid, so I definitely have to take note that there’s a seemingly significant portion of the audience that wasn’t happy with that direction, so in that respect I think everyone on The Walking Dead creative team has taken note of that, and I don’t know that I would expect a similar cliffhanger at the end of season 7,” Kirkman told Variety. The cliffhanger, when unearned, feels like a cheap device. But it’s also worth noting that in our binge-everything age, it’s rare not to have an question answered almost immediately. A break between seasons might be a little long to wait, but it’s a rare example of a show pushing against fan service. Too often projects get derailed when the creative team pushes hard to include everything the fans want. Kirkman is right to have withheld as he saw fit, but he’s also right to listen to fan voices. To a point, that is.