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    Back to The Spin-off

    The Spin-off

    'The Walking Dead' returns, and another shakeup at MTV

    AMC's zombie drama The Walking Dead returned to huge ratings with its Season 7 premiere, but some fans are not crazy about the extreme violence that's now becoming commonplace in the show. And, after just a year on the job, Sean Atkins is out at MTV. Chris McCarthy will be taking over.

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    KCRW placeholderBy Josef Adalian • Oct 26, 2016 • 34m Listen

    Seven seasons in, The Walking Dead on AMC is still a massive hit. Seventeen million people tuned in to watch the season premiere, and more still will catch up in delayed and digital viewing. However, not everyone was thrilled at the opening episode. Season 6 ended with a cliffhanger, and the start of Season 7 showed two fan favorite characters died in an extremely gruesome way. Some people have said they're quitting the show because of the violence, but producers aren't worried. They say it's the same kind of violence seen in shows like Game of Thrones.

    Just over a year ago, we talked about new leadership at MTV, and now that president Sean Atkins is stepping down. Chris McCarthy from VH1 and Logo is taking his place. As young people have moved away from traditional television, its been a struggle for youth-oriented networks like MTV to hang on.

    End of show Downloads:

    Lesley: The Cubs are in the World Series! It's been 108 years since the Cubs won a World Series, and the historic moment also means big advertising revenue for Fox.

    Joe: You can now watch the 1979 TV show Real People on Amazon Prime. The show featured human interest stories and was a precursor to reality TV.

    Mike: If the darkness of the real world is getting you down, check out the light, fun and musical show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Season 2 is now on The CW.

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      Josef Adalian

      Vulture

    • KCRW placeholder

      Michael Schneider

      Senior editor at Variety

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      KCRW Staff

      KCRW Staff

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      Kaitlin Parker

      Producer, 'The Business' and 'Hollywood Breakdown'

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      Lesley Goldberg

      Hollywood Reporter

      Culture
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