{"id":1988919,"date":"2025-08-30T21:44:23","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T21:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1988919"},"modified":"2025-08-30T21:44:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T21:44:23","slug":"20-years-later-this-is-still-the-biggest-mistake-any-tv-show-has-ever-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/20-years-later-this-is-still-the-biggest-mistake-any-tv-show-has-ever-made\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Years Later This Is Still The Biggest Mistake Any TV Show Has Ever Made"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Usually, when we discuss why something failed as part of our <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.giantfreakinrobot.com\/topic\/why-it-failed\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Why It Failed series;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Why It Failed series<\/a>, it\u2019s about an entire movie or series that underperformed or missed the mark. This time, I\u2019m doing something different. Instead of looking at an entire show, I\u2019m magnifying one specific decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It was a decision so bad, so disastrous, that it wiped out not just a television show\u2019s ratings but its entire future. One decision, one moment that completely destroyed the most popular series on television.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">This is why killing Glenn failed.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\"><strong>The Walking Dead\u2019s Once In A Generation Popularity<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">By the time <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> reached Season 7 in 2016, it was the biggest show on cable television, pulling in over 17 million viewers for its Season 7 premiere and dominating pop culture.\u00a0The series was on its way to solidifying a place as one of the all-time great television shows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the season 7 opener, <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> threw it all away. The show killed off Glenn Rhee in season 7\u2019s first episode. It was a turning point that the series never recovered from.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Negan prepares to kill Glenn in <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> season 7 opener.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">From the outside looking in, that being <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.giantfreakinrobot.com\/topic\/the-thing\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:the thing;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">the thing<\/a> that destroyed the show might not make any sense. The series had killed off dozens of primary characters by then. Killing off beloved characters had become <em>The Walking Dead\u2019s<\/em> trademark, and that was precisely the problem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">By season 7, viewers had already begun questioning why they were watching the show. Week after week, <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> delivered endless moments of misery and death. Things never got better, and characters you loved were always getting eaten.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\"><strong>Viewers Began To Feel As Though They Were Being Abused<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Glenn Rhee, played by Steven Yeun, had been with the show since its second episode. He was one of the very few left who\u2019d survived from the original cast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He wasn\u2019t just a survivor; he was smart, loyal, and resourceful. He was the moral compass who\u2019d saved Rick, gotten the group out of countless jams, and built a believable, heartfelt relationship with Maggie (<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.giantfreakinrobot.com\/topic\/lauren-cohan\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Lauren Cohan;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Lauren Cohan<\/a>). He was the only consistent bright spot in a show built around endless suffering.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/yuUGVQzIKFutLtwgN.x.jw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/giant_freakin_robot_articles_628\/552de48ef3bb37fb68d20c21b499083c\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">And yet, <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> had already been taking Glenn for granted. In season six, the show put together an arc that faked Glenn\u2019s death and then toyed with the viewers over whether he was alive or not. Maybe that was their way of prepping the audience for when they actually did kill him, but for fans, it was beginning to feel like they were being abused.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\"><strong>Why<\/strong> <strong>Killing Glenn Drove Viewers Away<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">When in the season 7 premiere, Negan (<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.giantfreakinrobot.com\/topic\/jeffrey-dean-morgan\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Jeffrey Dean Morgan;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Jeffrey Dean Morgan<\/a>) bludgeoned Glenn to death with a baseball bat in front of the entire group, the loss hit hard. But it wasn\u2019t just the death; it was how it was done. The lingering close-ups of his crushed skull, the infamous \u201ceye pop,\u201d and the prolonged sadism made it feel less like drama and more like punishment for watching.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"We\u2019re keeping this Safe For Work. But trust us, this was horrific.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/pWEjWi3dGEL.XpEW3Eg7cA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/giant_freakin_robot_articles_628\/84b78b14aff0a75bb6eb675ec87336a0\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>We\u2019re keeping this Safe For Work. But trust us, this was horrific.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Viewers had endured plenty of character deaths before, but Glenn\u2019s execution crossed a line. People began to question why they were still watching this, wondering what there was to root for. Those weren\u2019t questions <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> wanted its audience asking because once they did, the answer was nothing.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\"><strong>Walking Dead\u2019s Massive Ratings Drop After Glenn\u2019s Death<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ratings immediately dipped. 17 million watched Glenn\u2019s murder. Only 12 million were still watching the next episode. Only 11 million for the third. That decline never stopped. It kept accelerating. By the show\u2019s final season, it averaged fewer than two million viewers per episode.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"&lt;em&gt;The Walking Dead&lt;\/em&gt; movie that became a miniseries no one watched.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/WIMXYf7MVw8S0aj9hzpLqg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/giant_freakin_robot_articles_628\/1007cc40f2cefb3bb3de7fa15344b568\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><em>The Walking Dead<\/em> movie that became a miniseries no one watched.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>The Walking Dead <\/em>movie AMC announced never happened. It was canceled and eventually reworked into a six episode miniseries which, predictably, no one watched. It barely managed a million viewers.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\"><strong>The Walking Dead\u2019s Viewers Needed Safety<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">When they killed Glenn, the emotional heart of the show was gone, replaced by grim shock value. The show\u2019s production team thought they were being edgy by proving that no one was safe, but viewers already knew that. What their audience needed was to feel safe, and <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> took that away from them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Defenders of the move like to point out that Glenn also died in the comics, but that\u2019s irrelevant. By season 7, <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> had firmly established that it wasn\u2019t sticking to comic book canon.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan taking his time killing Glenn in &lt;em&gt;The Walking Dead&lt;\/em&gt; season 7 opener.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/EN_66pBmYRdV7McxUAQV7w--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/giant_freakin_robot_articles_628\/55fce75011fb3dea8b3e77570503423c\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan taking his time killing Glenn in <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> season 7 opener.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Beyond that, this source material argument misses the importance of the way the death was handled. They didn\u2019t just kill the only ray of hope on the show; they stomped it into the ground and spat on it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In doing so, they wiped out <em>The Walking Dead\u2019s<\/em> future legacy. What was once the biggest television show, beloved by tens of millions of ardent fans, is no longer talked about. In the age of endless <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.giantfreakinrobot.com\/topic\/streaming\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:streaming;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">streaming<\/a> binging, where everything old is new again, <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> is actually dead. It\u2019s payback for what they did to Glenn.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/c4VYd0FgRkdCc6CvkdJEjA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/giant_freakin_robot_articles_628\/7e484685a37a94b149f842225f1c4106\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Usually, when we discuss why something failed as part of our Why It Failed series, it\u2019s about an entire movie or series that underperformed or missed the mark. This time, I\u2019m doing something different. Instead of looking at an entire show, I\u2019m magnifying one specific decision. It was a decision so bad, so disastrous, that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1988920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[358821,347204,324753,311535],"class_list":["post-1988919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-glenn","tag-television-show","tag-the-show","tag-the-walking-dead"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20-Years-Later-This-Is-Still-The-Biggest-Mistake-Any.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1988919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1988920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1988919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1988919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1988919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}