New ‘The Walking Dead’ Survey Shows 44.3% Of Respondents Plan To Stop Watching After Rick Is Gone

The Walking Dead fans have spoken on their stance post-Andrew Lincoln, with almost half the fans in one poll saying they will be done with the show when the Rick Grimes era ends.

The Reddit community, a group of Walking Dead fans who interact on a daily basis in conversations centered around the AMC show, held a poll to ask fans several questions regarding their opinions of the show. Following the news of Andrew Lincoln leaving the show in Season Nine breaking, the poll questioned whether fans think Rick should leave for a possible return in the future or die. The results were fairly split, as 49% of fans voted “Leave” with 51% saying “Die.”

Sticking around with the AMc show when Rick’s time ends, however, was a different story. 72% of the fans who participated in the poll said The Walking Dead should end after Season Nine, with 14% saying it should merge with Fear the Walking Dead (which isn’t happening). Only 18.8% of fans, however, said they would continue watching The Walking Dead after Rick is gone. 36.9% said they will “maybe” stick around, with 44.3% outright saying “No.”

The poll also asked which character should become the centerpiece of the show, with 40% voting for Negan, followed by Judith’s 20% bid, Daryl’s 15% votes, Michonne’s 14% votes, and Carol’s 12% votes.

Following Season Eight, only a small handful of cast members who joined in Season Three or earlier have remained an active part of the series.

“There’s only me left in the top 10 [of the call sheet,]” Lincoln told ComicBook.com ahead of the Season Eight finale. “Norman [Reedus] and Melissa [McBride] and Danai [Gurira] and [Lauren Cohan], they’re all in the twenties…This job is, as I said before, glorious and unique. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The stinger is the fact that I seem to be the guy left on the pier waving people away. That’s powerful.”

Though Lincoln has expressed his excitement over the new showrunner heading into Season Nine, with Angela Kang taking on the position, he also has told ComicBook.com that he is ready to see an endpoint for his character which could be justified for the series.

“There’s part of me that really wants to complete something,” Lincoln said. “How long that takes? I don’t know but certainly I really think the fans and my character deserves an end point as some time in the future.”

AMC does not currently have plans to end The Walking Dead in Season Nine.

The Walking Dead will return for its ninth season in the fall. Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.