How 'The Walking Dead' Thrived Without Rick in Season 9

The Walking Dead faced a daunting obstacle in its ninth season as Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan would exit their Rick Grimes and Maggie Rhee roles, respectively. However, the product being delivered AMC each Sunday night has consistently been high-quality, consistent with some of the show's best arcs. New showrunner Angela Kang is looking back at her first 16-episode run proudly and already planning ahead.

"I feel good," Kang told ComicBook.com. "I'm just really grateful that I got to make this season of the show. Everybody that was involved, we kind of had a great time making it even though we knew it was going to be a giant year with losing Andy Lincoln, with some of the other cast departures and everything, but everybody was just so lovely, and I'm really happy that it seems that there's been a good audience response to it. I wanted the audience to feel the same way that I feel about making the show, which is that it's like a fun, wild adventure. Yeah, I guess I feel good, and I'm already deep in the middle of the next season, so it all just keeps rolling for me."

While many fans looked at The Walking Dead without its lead character Rick Grimes as a handicap, Kang has found ways to fill the void with other characters. In fact, the show may have been forced to work extra hard in his absence, resulting in a strong product which has other characters seeing more dialogue and screen time.

Filling Rick's void prompted Kang to bring other characters to the forefront, which might have ultimately benefited the series, despite the constant feeling of missing Rick.

"There's so many factors that make the show the show, or make things work," Kang explained. "I think a million different things have to go right in order for everything to work, but I do think that because we knew Andy was going to be leaving, and there was no bad blood there... We knew well in advance, we knew the family reasons, so we all kind of came at it as, 'Okay, we have to make a season that honors his character, that sends him off in a memorable way,' and then it's like, 'We have to make sure that everybody understands the show is still here, and we can still make an amazing show without him.'"

Still on board: Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, and many other beloved cast members. "We have all these great cast members who have always been there," Kang explained. "It's always been this ensemble show, but it did allow us to showcase different people in the cast in different ways. It forced us to be really creative about how do you pair people up? Who do you have rise to the forefront? What are different stories that we can put people into?"

The Season Nine finale for The Walking Dead is set to air on Sunday night.

What do you think of The Walking Dead in the aftermath of Rick's exit? Has the extra screen time and narratives for other characters in his absence helped the series thrive? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter and watch ComicBook.com's After The Dead each Sunday night following new episodes on Facebook.com/ComicBookNOW.