Andrew Lincoln Poised To Walk Off ‘The Walking Dead’ Next Season

Andrew Lincoln Poised To Walk Off ‘The Walking Dead’ Next Season

He has lost his on-screen son, his wife and a number of friends to the zombie apocalypse and now The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln looks to be taking his own leave of the AMC blockbuster.

Related
AMC Seeks Jury For $300M 'Walking Dead' Suit; Plaintiffs Mock 'Desperate' Cabler

Almost unbelievable on a show where almost no one is said to be safe, the man who has played Rick Grimes since the very beginning of the series based on Robert Kirkman’s comics could be gone by the end of the upcoming ninth season, I hear. The exact parameters of that exit for the lead in the ensemble cast are still being determined but it looks like Lincoln will be a presence in about six episodes of the new season.

This move for the CAA represented Lincoln follows co-star Lauren Cohan drastically cutting down her participation in the Angela Kang showrunner season for a stint on ABC’s midseason replacement spy dramedy Whiskey Cavalier. Cohan was in a contract dispute with TWD before coming to terms that will see her in only about half a dozen episodes as the now Grimes resisting Maggie Rhee when the series is back in October.

AMC said that they had “no comment” on Lincoln leaving TWD when contacted by Deadline.

The loss of Lincoln’s Grimes would be another radical departure for the show from its comic source material. A similar shift occurred in the February 25 Season 8 midseason return of TWD earlier this year when the Chandler Riggs’ portrayed Carl Grimes died after being bitten by a walker. In Kirkman’s comics, Carl survives well into the chaos of the infected world as does his father, though less a hand – which did not happen on the small screen.

No word if Black Panther star Danai Gurira will be staying on the show past Season 9. However, a well-positioned source also tells me that fan favorite Norman Reedus will continue on TWD fighting the good fight.

Having shattered cable records to emerge as the highest rated show on all of television and at one point attracting viewership in excess of 17 million for its double death delivering Season 7 opener of October 23, 2016, The Walking Dead has seen a decline in the last year and a bit, like most shows on the small screen. The April 15 broadcast Season 8 finale drew an audience of 7.9 million – great numbers for almost any show but a finale low for TWD.