Extended episodes are nothing new in the realm of television, and with The Walking Dead, we’re beginning to see the technique implemented more and more as season 7 unfolds.
“Service,” for instance, ran for a super-sized 85 minutes a few weeks back, while AMC plans to stretch both “Swear” and “Sing Me a Song” for 70 minutes and 90 minutes, respectively. The former is earmarked for premiere this coming Sunday, November 27, and ComicBook.com is reporting that the upcoming midseason finale, entitled “Hearts Still Beating,” will run from 9pm to 10:25pm ET.
As The Walking Dead draws closer and closer to its annual hiatus, news that the midseason finale will run for longer than anticipated will certainly be music to the ears of fans, but will it be enough to offset the show’s ailing ratings? Figures published earlier this week revealed that AMC’s flagship tumbled to 11 million viewers with the premiere of Sunday’s fifth episode, “Go Getters,” which is a significant drop from the 17 million threshold of season 7’s premiere and brings those all-important ratings to their lowest point since TWD‘s third season. Can The Walking Dead bounce back in the coming weeks? We certainly hope so.
Here’s what series showrunner Scott Gimple had to share about the upcoming super-sized episodes.
“We sneakily tell you the week before. Yes, there are, here and there. We’ve had an opportunity to do that, and that’s been really exciting. There’s a lot of story to tell and there’s a lot of characters to serve, and I feel really, really lucky we’re able to give the audience even more story.”
The Walking Dead season 7 marches on with the premiere of “Swear” on Sunday, November 27.
