Similairly to the fourth season of Arrested Development, the seventh and eight seasons of The Walking Dead were less favourable due to the format change. Both shows focussed on individual plot lines in each episode, so the plot (particularly with TWD) dragged. Currently being released is a “remix” of the fourth season of AD, the episodes have been re
-edited into a more cohesive season of the show.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrested_Development_(season_4)#Original_release_(2013)

The declining viewership is an issue, that can be prevented. Currently the series is not available on Netflix (not in the UK and I believe not in full in the USA), if the show was released to the streaming platform, people would likely take the opportunity to finally catch up. The only issue would be those two seasons, which may put people off.

I believe that re-editing the two seasons from thirty two 42 minute episodes down to twenty hour long episodes, would make the seasons more digestible. 17.03 million viewers watched the Season 7 Premiere, 11.44 million watched the Season 8 Premiere and unfortunately only 6.08 million saw the Season 9 Premiere. I think that Season 9 is a return to form for the show, and it’s a shame that people who loved the first six seasons are missing out on the refreshed show.

The issue is undoubtably the 7th and 8th seasons, so perhaps rereleasing them to streaming in a more digestible form would be the best way to regain some lost viewers. (It would also be an opportunity to rerelease them on Home Media with some proper special features for fans)

Thoughts?

The key here is getting the message that Season 9 is great (in comparison), making Season 10 look enticing and getting interest in the Rick films. The issue is the lack of availability at an affordable price to most viewers and the offputting drag or 7/8. There are some great moments in those seasons though, and in the right order, I think they could be just as great as the rest of the show

 

An example of how they could be combined:

1.) 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 (1/2)
2.) 7.3 (2/2), 7.4, 7.5
3.) 7.6, 7.7, 7.8
4.) 7.9, 7.11
5.) 7.10, 7.13
6.) 7.12, 7.14 (1/2), 7.15
7.) 7.14 (2/2), 7.16, 8.1 (1/2)
8.) 8.1 (1/2), 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 (1/2)
9.) 8.4 (1/2), 8.5 (1/2), 8.6, 8.7 (1/2)
10.) 8.4 (2/2), 8.5 (2/2), 8.7 (2/2), 8.8
11.) 8.9, 8.10, 8.11
12.) 8.12, 8.13, 8.14
13.) 8.15, 8.16

Okay, so it turns out, 13 episodes seems most appropriate. My versions of episodes 4-6 and 8-10 take pieces of the “filler” episodes and make them into an episode that progresses the plot. They appear out of order occasionally, which isn’t an issue because the original episodes were like standalone stories. Making 1 - 1.5 hour episodes would really sort this season for me. The plot lines need to run simultaneously

 

So, nobody has any thoughts about this?