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Andrew Lincoln Makes List of World’s Highest-Paid TV Actors for Final ‘Walking Dead’ Season

AMC

Andrew Lincoln has joined Forbes‘ list of the 10 highest-paid TV actors for the first time.

That time coincides with 1) his final season — only five episodes — of “The Walking Dead“; and 2) Kevin Spacey being dumped from “House of Cards.”

As Forbes noted, the only actor on the 2018 list to drop off the previous year’s ranking is Kevin Spacey, who was axed from his lead role of Frank Underwood in the final season of “House of Cards.”

Netflix

It’s possible that if Spacey hadn’t been called out for so many alleged misdeeds, and filmed his final season, he would’ve taken Lincoln’s spot.

Apparently Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) made $11 million for his five episodes of “The Walking Dead” Season 9. Forbes suspects Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) will replace Andrew Lincoln on this list next year, since Reedus reportedly negotiated a raise to stay on after Lincoln leaves.

AMC

The ranking charts earnings from June 2017 to June 2018. Forbes said the 10 actors on this list made a combined $181 million, down from $185 million in the same period last year. It really is tough out there for men!

Most of these actors are familiar from making this list every year for their high-rated comedy series:

The World’s Highest-Paid Actors 2018

No. 1. Jim Parsons
Earnings: $26.5 million
“The Big Bang Theory”

No. 2. Johnny Galecki
$25 million
“Big Bang Theory”

No. 3. (tie) Simon Helberg
$23.5 million
“Big Bang Theory”

No. 3. (tie) Kunal Nayyar
$23.5 million
“Big Bang Theory”

No. 5. Mark Harmon
$19 million
“NCIS”

No. 6. Ed O’Neill
$14 million
“Modern Family”

No. 7. Eric Stonestreet
$13.5 million
“Modern Family”

No. 8. Jesse Tyler Ferguson
$13 million
“Modern Family”

No. 9. Ty Burrell
$12 million
“Modern Family”

No. 10. Andrew Lincoln
$11 million
“The Walking Dead”

That list is going to break wide open once “The Big Bang Theory” and “Modern Family” end. TBBT is ending after Season 12, so we’ll see how this ranking shakes up after that.

CBS

“The Walking Dead” has long been the most-watched and highest-rated cable show, but it has taken MAJOR hits in the past couple of years. This year, so far, is TWD’s lowest-rated yet in that advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic.

AMC has already revealed Andrew Lincoln’s final episode airs in early November. It’s possible the show will slide even further into ratings oblivion without him. Then again, the hardcore fans who watch every week seem to be sticking with it to the end. As long as they stick around, AMC may continue long into the double digit seasons.

[h/t: ComicBook]

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October 25, 2018
‘Walking Dead’ Reveals Andrew Lincoln’s Final Episode as Rick Grimes

AMC

“Walking Dead” fans are still in denial over the upcoming departure of Andrew Lincoln, who has anchored the series as Rick Grimes since the show’s beginning. Now, we know exactly when he’ll say his final goodbye.

According to ComicBook.com, in a new promo for episodes 904 and 905 — which will air on Sunday, October 28 and Sunday, November 4 — AMC called the installments “Rick’s final two episodes.” That means that episode 905 will officially mark Lincoln’s “TWD” swan song.

The episode, called “What Comes After,” features this synopsis:

“Rick is forced to face the past as he struggles to maintain the safety of the communities and protect the future he and Carl envisioned.”

The “Walking Dead” creative team has been hyping Lincoln’s final episode since his departure was confirmed, promising that “something special” is in the works for the sheriff. Lincoln himself has said that he helped craft his goodbye storyline, which will no doubt fuel the rest of the series going forward.

We already know that several former “TWD” castmates will be reprising their roles to help send off Rick/Lincoln, including Jon Berenthal (Shane), Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha), and the late actor Scott Wilson (Hershel). Better spend the next two weeks preparing yourself for an epic — and no doubt insanely emotional — farewell.

Lincoln’s final appearance on “The Walking Dead” will air on November 4 on AMC.

[via: ComicBook.com]

October 22, 2018
‘The Walking Dead’ Lost Half Its Viewers From This Time Last Year

AMC

Almost six million people are missing. They were last seen watching “The Walking Dead” Season 8 premiere. They were actually the survivors. The year before that, there were nearly six million MORE people watching “The Walking Dead” Season 7 premiere.

So, yeah, nearly *12 million people* have vanished since October 2016.

If TWD keeps losing close to six million people a year it’ll be in a tough spot for Season 10, since there are only six million people left.

Long story short — “The Walking Dead” Season 9 premiere had the lowest ratings yet. Sure, there was a lot of competition Sunday night, but there always is during the fall.

Season 9, Episode 1, had 6.08 million viewers and a 2.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic. That’s down 50 percent from the Season 8 premiere, which had 11.44 million viewers and 5.0 rating.

Last year’s premiere was actually the lowest in years, but the AMC show fell further this year. Yes, it’s still the highest rated cable show, but it’s clear the people who used to watch are either watching later in the week — those numbers will be out soon — watching later in the year, or not watching at all anymore.

Contrast October 7’s 6 million with the 17 million who watched the Season 7 premiere just two years ago. Even more watched the Season 5 premiere in 2014. Season 6 “dipped” a bit with 14.63 million viewers, but TWD may never see those kinds of numbers again.

AMC

Season 9 has already made headlines for marking the final season for Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes. It’s possible that news was leaked early to try and get more viewers to tune in for the whole season. So far, not so good on that front. TWD premieres tend to have the highest numbers of the season. It’s possible this year Andrew Lincoln’s final episode will get more eyeballs, and maybe it will grow across the year from positive word of mouth. Remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, “Doctor Who” Season 11 was up from the Season 10 premiere — although “up” for them is just 1.37 million viewers for a showing at 1:45 p.m. ET to be simulcast with the premiere in the U.K.

Are you part of the six million still sticking it out with “The Walking Dead” on Sunday nights, or are you one of the nearly-six million they lost in the past year?

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October 9, 2018
‘The Walking Dead’ Alum Sonequa Martin-Green to Return in Season 9

AMC Networks

Goodbyes on “The Walking Dead” don’t have to be for good.

At least three characters we previously said farewell to will appear in the current season. Showrunner Angela Kang announced the return of Sonequa Martin-Green at New York Comic Con over the weekend, Variety reports. She’ll reprise her role as Sasha Williams, although the details remain under wraps.

Martin-Green first played the character in Season 3 and was introduced when Sasha, her brother, and other survivors came across the prison where Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group were holed up. Eventually, Sasha joined them, along with her brother, Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman), and served as the group’s sniper. Although Martin-Green’s role was originally meant to be a recurring one, she ended up earning a promotion to series regular in Season 4.

“As we kept going forward, they picked up my option to be a regular,” she told THR in 2015. “It’s very rare and I’m still quite dumbfounded about it.”

Much to fans’ dismay, though, Sasha was killed off in Season 7. Now, she’ll be brought back in some capacity. While Kang did not explain how that would work, as Variety noted, flashbacks or dream sequences always seem like viable options.

In addition to Martin-Green, at least two other former recurring stars are returning, including Scott Wilson, who is recently deceased, and Jon Bernthal.

“The Walking Dead” Season 9 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC.

[via: Variety]

October 8, 2018
Watch ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9’s New (and Strikingly Different) Opening Credits

AMC

Wow. “The Walking Dead” is really trying to emphasize that it’s a brand new show in Season 9.

The new season — which premieres this Sunday, October 7 on AMC — is jumping ahead 18 months after the Season 8 finale. That marked the end of All Out War between Alexandria, the Kingdom, and Hilltop vs. Negan and the Saviors.

It’s never easy to mark time on TWD, other than following baby Judith. But this time jump — a year and a half — is essentially the amount of time it took to tell the first several seasons.

Now “The Walking Dead” walker apocalypse has a brand new look for the characters, the world around the, and behind-the-scenes. Angela Kang is the new showrunner in Season 9, and it’s already been spoiled over and over that Andrew Lincoln is leaving as Rick Grimes after this season. Lauren Cohan is also said to be leaving, but it sounds like she might be willing to come back in Season 10.

Angela Kang told The Hollywood Reporter it was outgoing showrunner Scott M. Gimple’s idea to come up with a new opening title sequence to mark A New Beginning.

Huge Designs submitted the winning “graphic novel inspired” vision for the new opening credits, which you should watch closely:

“We had fun burying the iconic objects from the show into the titles,” Kang told THR. “Some of them, we made very obvious. Others? They’re more like Easter eggs for people to go around looking for. That’s part of what’s fun for me when I watch this type of show: looking for the hidden clues in things. We felt it was a nice microcosm of what some of the fun of the show is for people. There’s what’s there on the surface, and then there’s what you’ll find if you dig around in the dark corners.”

Watch the new opening:

We know that tree from Rick’s climactic fight scene with Negan at the end of Season 8. Nice to see the helicopter again. Plus horses for the Old West feel of the new season. Daryl’s bike and arrows. The new Alexandria windmill. What other clues are you picking up?

And here are the first five minutes of Season 9, as already posted by AMC:

“The Walking Dead” returns Sunday, October 7 at 9/8c on AMC.

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October 3, 2018
AMC Plans to Continue ‘The Walking Dead’ Universe for ‘the Next Decade, Plus’

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

“The Walking Dead” itself may not last for another decade, but the “universe” it has created will continue.

Because everything is a “universe” now.

Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Extended Universe, The Conjuring Universe, heck even The Vampire Diaries has its own universe. Your family should add “Universe” to your last name to stay on trend.

AMC CEO Josh Sapan was at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference (!!!) talking up the network’s plans, when he was asked about declining ratings for the flagship series “The Walking Dead.”

Here’s his reply, via The Hollywood Reporter:

Asked about the weaker ratings for AMC hit show The Walking Dead, Sapan argued the popular series was more of a franchise. “The Walking Dead is a universe…and we have a plan to manage over the next decade, plus. That plan is a careful plan to respect the world of the fans of that world,” he argued, as Sapan pointed to Fear of the Walking Dead as an extension of The Walking Dead franchise.

“Fear the Walking Dead” is part of that growing “universe” now, but the overall viewers and 18-49 demo ratings for “Fear” Season 4 are nothing to brag about. “The Walking Dead” itself is still doing much better — even after the steep drops of Season 8, it’s still the most watched and highest rated cable show. But the upcoming TWD Season 9 is about to lose Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). AMC’s promos are now using that as a selling point to get fans to watch, but are fans going to keep watching after he is gone?

Scott M. Gimple is no longer “The Walking Dead” showrunner, but he was instead apparently promoted to Chief Content Officer, aka master of this shared universe. During Comic-Con, Gimple teased plans for another spinoff (via Geek Tyrant):

“I’m working on something to announce [that will affect] the past, present, and future of the universe. […] We have a bunch of different things in mind, cool new ‘Walking Dead’ stuff. Some things that are really complementary to the stuff we’re doing now and some stuff that’s far afield and very different.”

So that must be part of the “next decade, plus” that AMC is planning.

Will you be there to see it all play out?

“The Walking Dead” Season 9 premieres Sunday, October 7 on AMC.

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September 14, 2018
Extended ‘Walking Dead’ Season 9 Trailer Hails Rick’s Final Episodes

AMC

Take a bow, Rick Grimes. You’ve killed a lot of zombies, fought a lot of bad guys, lost nearly your entire family, and now you can rest in peace, whether in death or some kind of retirement.

AMC released a new, nearly six-minute extended trailer for “The Walking Dead” Season 9 teasing Rick’s final episodes. As everyone knows, star Andrew Lincoln is leaving the show. How will Rick depart? Will he die like almost everyone else has? Ride off into the sunset alone? Simply go missing, possibly to pop up again down the road?

Naturally, the trailer reveals zero clues about Rick’s exit. Nor does it provide a glimpse of the season’s main villains, the Whisperers. But it does preview the more political problems ahead, as the allied communities (Alexandria, Hilltop, the Kingdom, Oceanside) build out and prosper.

Some naysayers, like Daryl (Norman Reedus) aren’t sure these sort-of suburbs are a good idea.

“That small group we had back in the beginning, we could do anything,” Daryl tells Rick. “That was right. This don’t feel right.”

“The Walking Dead” Season 9 premieres Sunday, Oct. 7 on AMC.

September 11, 2018
‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9 Premiere Photos Show Carol and Ezekiel Romance

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

A lot of time has passed between “The Walking Dead” Season 8 and the upcoming Season 9. AMC just shared a bunch of new photos from the Season 9 premiere showing off the time jump changes.

One of those changes is the romance between Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) and King of the Kingdom Ezekiel (Khary Payton). They had a connection in Season 8, and were definitely close, but now it’s clear they are a couple. If they had Instagram, they’d be Instagram official. (Sorry, Team Caryl. You could still be end game.)

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Maggie Greene Rhee (Lauren Cohan) — who are both said to be leaving this season — show off their new looks in these photos. Rick now has shorter, grayer hair, and Maggie has longer hair. Based on a photo of Jeffrey Dean Morgan (not shown in these pics), Negan will probably have a shorter ‘do too.

Here are some new Season 9, Episode 1 photos — in addition to the shot of Carol and Ezekiel at top:

AMC

AMC

AMC

AMC

AMC

AMC

AMC

Season 9 has a new (fourth) showrunner in longtime writer Angela Kang. A while back she talked to EW about the time jump and the new Western vibe:

“We’ll explore what happened as man made objects and structures break down. Infrastructure like roads and bridges are changing and crumbling. And we’ll also explore what happens as resources are getting low. There’s a fun Western vibe that has emerged. We are going into a period where a lot of the things that we’ve seen in previous seasons have broken down, so they’ve got these horses and carriages that are being drawn around instead of cars. Things are lit with oil lamps. People are using different kinds of weaponry. There’s a real grittiness to it that I think will be fun and fresh for the viewers.”

“The Walking Dead” Seaosn 9 premieres Sunday, October 7 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

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August 23, 2018
Alexander Skarsgard and Michael Shannon Are ’70s Spies in AMC’s ‘The Little Drummer Girl’ Photos

AMC/Ink Factory

John Le Carré’s thriller “The Little Drummer Girl” is coming to AMC this November.

The six-part adaptation — from “The Night Manager” team of BBC One, AMC, and The Ink Factory — stars Florence Pugh, Alexander Skarsgard, Michael Shannon, Clare Holman, Charles Dance, Max Irons, Simona Brown, and Kate Sumpter.

AMC shared first look photos at the series, which comes from visionary director Park Chan-wook (“Oldboy,” “The Handmaiden”). The cast also discussed the new series during the TCA summer press tour.

Here’s a synopsis for “Little Drummer Girl,” via Deadline:

“Blurring the fine lines between love and hate; truth and fiction; and right and wrong; ‘The Little Drummer Girl’ weaves a suspenseful and explosive story of espionage and high-stakes international intrigue.

Set in the late 1970s, the pulsating thriller follows Charlie (Florence Pugh), a fiery actress and idealist whose resolve is tested after she meets the mysterious Becker (Alexander Skarsgård,) while on holiday in Greece. It quickly becomes apparent that his intentions are not what they seem, and her encounter with him entangles her in a complex plot devised by the spy mastermind Kurtz (Michael Shannon). Charlie takes on the role of a lifetime as a double agent while remaining uncertain of her own loyalties.”

The series may be set in the late 1970s but it’s still described as “sharply contemporary,” weaving a “dynamic and exciting story of espionage and international intrigue; of love and betrayal.”

Check out more photos (beyond the one at top):

Jonathan Olley/AMC/Ink Factory

Jonathan Olley/AMC/Ink Factory

Jonathan Olley/AMC/Ink Factory

Jonathan Olley/AMC/Ink Factory

Michael Shannon’s mustache and ASkar’s short-shorts already deserve Emmy consideration.

What you should not expect is anything like the 1984 film adaptation starring Diane Keaton. One of the producers said he was “disappointed” by it, and Pugh added, “I don’t think anyone was interested in duplicating it.”

“The Little Drummer Girl” arrives on AMC in November.

[Via: Deadline]

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July 30, 2018
Andrew Lincoln Reveals Why He’s Leaving ‘The Walking Dead’

AMC

Andrew Lincoln, who has been the face of “The Walking Dead” since the zombie drama’s debut, is preparing to depart the series sometime during its upcoming ninth season. Now, the star is finally addressing the reason behind his decision to turn in his sheriff’s badge.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lincoln and several other “TWD” cast members dished out some scoop about season nine. Lincoln also took the opportunity to discuss his impending exit from the series — which he confirmed at Comic-Con earlier this month — and reveal why he’s walking away.

“I have two young children, and I live in a different country, and they become less portable as they get older,” the actor explained to EW. “It was that simple. It was time for me to come home.”

Home to Lincoln is England, and it was apparent to his former co-star, Chandler Riggs (who played Lincoln’s son, Carl, and was killed off in season eight), that that was where the star needed to be. In an interview last month, Riggs said he was surprised by the actor’s exit, but that it would “be good for him to get back to his family and raise his kids.”

Just how Lincoln will be written out is a heavily guarded secret, though the actor did tell EW that he had already filmed his swan song.

“Completing the show was like releasing air finally,” the star said. “And it was very satisfying the last two episodes in particular.”

Fans will have to wait to see those installments, but in an earlier interview, “TWD” creator Robert Kirkman promised that the series had “something amazing planned.”

“I wouldn’t want to spoil anything,” Kirkman continued, “but anybody who has been a fan of his journey, who loves Rick Grimes, who loves the world of ‘The Walking Dead,’ you’re going to want to see what we do.”

Season nine of “The Walking Dead” premieres on AMC on October 7.

[via: Entertainment Weekly]

July 30, 2018