Walking Dead boss reveals fears fans would stop watching after Rick exit

"I will say that one of the most stressful things I had to deal with in my tenure was writing out Rick Grimes, [and] figuring out how the show goes forward," she revealed.

Having led the cast since the show's pilot episode, Andrew Lincoln opted to depart The Walking Dead midway through its ninth season in order to return to the UK. Of course, the series ran for another four years following his exit, but at the time Rick's leaving felt like a seismic shift – both for fans and the show's creative team.

His final appearance – to date, at least – was in the episode What Comes After, which saw Rick apparently sacrifice himself to stop a zombie herd, though in fact – unbeknownst to his friends and family – he was taken to parts unknown by Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh).

"I think in general the fans really got the emotion out of that episode that we hoped – and they kept watching the next episode, because I think our studio and our network were afraid that the entire audience would just stop watching right there," Kang admitted.

"So our job was to make sure that the entire audience doesn't stop watching. That was an interesting challenge."

Kang was tight-lipped as to whether Rick might appear in The Walking Dead's series finale, but we know for certain that fans will be reunited with the character in an upcoming spin-off, also featuring Danai Gurira as Michonne.

Read more:

• The Walking Dead boss reveals show's final scene was changed

The Walking Dead is streaming on Disney Plus, with the series finale available in the UK from Monday 21st November – sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year.

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