True Detective Can Learn From The Walking Dead’s Consistency
By Josh Hill
This past Sunday saw the season five premiere of The Walking Dead, and it was an event that brought in record ratings. In fact, the show brought in just over 17 million viewers –a record for AMC and so much more than what True Detective managed in it’s first season.
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What the series has done is incredible, as it’s used a digital streaming service to flex its muscles and increase its wealth in viewership. Much like True Detective used HBO Go to average 11 million viewers in the first season, The Walking Dead used Netflix to show off its episodes and get viewers to dig into the show and get all caught up.
The Walking Dead is a linear show though that follows the same story from season to season but it has one thing that True Detective needs to learn — consistency.
Even on a show that routinely kills of main characters, The Walking Dead is so consistent in what it does that fans flock to the show each year. This trouble with the premiere date for True Detective is troubling, to say the least, but it’s a correctable problem. True Detective risks losing viewers with its long wait, and The Walking Dead breaking records by premiering on time is a great example of why True Detective needs to get its act together.