The Walking Dead Producers Toned Down Violence After Season 7 Premiere

The producers of The Walking Dead toned down the levels of violence in the current season. It has been reported that the negative response to the brutal season opener led them to lessen the violence in the episodes that followed.

During a recent panel discussion at the NATPE conference in Miami, producer Gale Anne Hurd revealed that audience's reactions to Season 7's controversial opener had a direct effect on the show. "We were able to look at the feedback on the level of violence," she said, via Variety. "We did tone it down for episodes we were still filming for later on in the season."

"When something matters a lot and it has a universality, then you're bothered by it and you care about it," she added.

Season 7 kicked off in October, with an episode that saw two of the show's key characters brutally killed by the villainous Negan. The episode was watched by 17 million viewers, nearly matching the 17.3 million record set by Season 5's opener.

However, the mid-season finale in December drew only 10.58 million viewers, which was the worst viewership for a mid-season finale of the show since 2012.

The Walking Dead returns on February 12. Earlier this month, a series of cryptic posters were released. An eighth season is also on the way and is scheduled to start in late 2017 with the show's 100th episode.