‘Fear the Walking Dead’ ratings: Can the spin-off live up to its wildly popular counterpart?

Warning: Season finale spoilers ahead.

Fear the Walking Dead’s mid-season ratings remained fairly steady since its April 2016 premiere, although its popularity has gradually dwindled. While the first season premiered with roughly 10 million viewers, the latest batch brought in an estimated 6.67 million and the numbers only worsened over time.

As the mid-season finale concluded on May 22, many on social media are starting to ponder the show’s longevity and its overall direction.

Mid-season finale overview:

Fear the Walking Dead left everyone hanging as Maddie and Travis’ extended family split, all while Travis stayed behind with Chris, whom appeared mentally unstable. Maddie’s son, Nick, also stayed to be one with the dead – or the living – depending on his point of view.

The show, sticking to the premise of killing off a regular character at any given time, admittedly could not afford to let fans down. While Maddie locked Griselda in with the supposed relatives, all of which were walkers, Danielle eventually broke free from his captors. Daniel then walked into the ‘relatives’ cage and set the place on fire. Maddie, Alicia, Ofelia, and Victor had left after watching the compound go up in smoke thanks to Daniel, who sacrificed himself in the process.

The show’s first season showed us when the official mayhem of the “zombie virus” started and followed several people as they tried to find a safe haven – only to be met with despair in the process.

Despite its uncertain, long-term future, AMC has renewed the spin-off for a 16-episode third season to air in 2017.