Death Watch: 'Walking Dead' Ratings Show No Sign of Rebound

For those who want to argue that the ratings slide for The Walking Dead this season is just an aberration that will turn around soon, this week has not brought good news. The fifth episode of the series' seventh season fell from the previous week, just as every episode of this season has done so far. And now the series' rating are at their lowest point since its third season.

This week's episode drew a 5.1 rating in the 18-49 age demographic, a drop of four percent from the previous week. More significant, though, is the episode's drop of almost 40 percent from the season's debut episode, marking the steepest ratings slide the series has ever seen.

On the bright side, TWD is still the highest-rated series on cable, and its ratings numbers have improved consistently when delayed viewing is taken into account.

However, it's getting much more difficult to deny that the downward trend in the series' viewership is real and not just a fluke that will reverse itself. Cracks had already begun to appear last season, when the ratings for some episodes were off from the series' peak, and this season has offered little in the way of positive changes. The season premiere was highly-rated but controversial, and the series has been plagued by complaints of poor writing and awkward pacing.

TWD's seventh season has three more episodes to go until its mid-season hiatus. The series has already been renewed for an eighth season on AMC.