Rick Grimes Actor Andrew Lincoln Leaving After ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9

This could be the last that we’ll see of AMC’s The Walking Dead. According to a report by Collider, Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick Grimes in the show is dead set on leaving the hit zombie show after season 9. Little is known as to how and when Lincoln will be making his exit, but it’s been confirmed that he will only appear in six more episodes of The Walking Dead Season 9.

This loss might prove to be another massive damage to The Walking Dead. For one thing, the show has been experiencing steady declines in viewership, especially after Chandler Rigg’s Carl Grimes was written out with an untimely death in the eighth season. And not to mention Lincoln as one of the only remaining core cast members since the first season. Together with Rick Grimes, it’s only Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) who remain as the original survivors from Atlanta.

As for the question of who will take on the leadership role of The Walking Dead, Collider reports that Reedus’ character will elevate himself as the leader of the pack. AMC has reportedly “offered substantial compensation” to the actor to not only stay for however long the show will drag on, but also take on the reins that Lincoln will vacate after Season 9.

Gene Page/AMC

The Walking Dead Season 8 ended with a tease of Lauren Cohan’s Maggie, who is building a “shadow ops” team with Jesus (Tom Payne) and Daryl to take out Rick for leadership. Despite that ending, however, Cohan was reportedly holding out for a better negotiation with her contract. After it was done, it’s now confirmed that along with Lincoln, Cohan will only appear in six episodes as well. This makes sense, because Cohan recently crossed over to ABC for the action-comedy series, Whiskey Cavalier, to premiere sometime this fall.

That said, it’s not a guarantee that The Walking Dead would move on without Rick Grimes. After all, in the source comic book, Rick is still alive and well. Given how Lincoln was the central star of the show (along with the other stellar characters, of course), this move could be another blow to the ratings of the show. Ever since Carl died, there’s been massive outrage from fans, and many tuned out after the reveal was made.

The Walking Dead still has the title of one of the best shows and franchises to have ever amassed a devoted fan base. Despite that, however, we might just be seeing the death of a show that once scared us with the undead apocalypse.