So you know how when a show gets bad, people stick around like "I'll hang on and see if next season gets better", and then the next season comes around and it's the same old thing, but people still say "I'll hang on and see if the next season is a return to form". Meanwhile 3 seasons go by of people hanging on for something better and they finally give up.

The Walking Dead finally did what people hoped it would do. It's finally good again in season 9, rivaling the highs of season 5. Except now for many people it's too little, too late. The people who were hanging on "for just one more season" finally let go after season 8. And now The Walking Dead is sitting here at season 9, as good as it has ever been, and I'm the only person watching this show now.

They took too long to get where they needed to go to keep the larger audience. However, the dedicated fanbase is still large enough to keep it the biggest show on AMC, so it's not going anywhere anytime soon.