'The Walking Dead' Under Investigation After That Gut-Wrenching Season Premiere
"The Walking Dead" Season 7 premiere was reported to be one of the most brutal episodes in the show's history. AMC's show is currently under investigation by the English television board, Ofcom for its violence.
The episode titled "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" gathered a total of 20 million views within three days, 17 million during its premiere. 17 million viewers were on the edges of their seats. Some cried, some shivered, some were downright gutted from the episode. It was the darkest episode to date.
The episode was one of the most talked-about for the following days since the premiere which aired weeks ago. Although millions of fans applauded The Walking Dead for such a great episode, a media regulator suggests it may have gone overboard in its depiction of violence.
Ofcom began its investigation after receiving multiple complaints from a number of viewers who claimed that The Walking Dead's graphic violence went beyond the acceptable limit. Fans already know that the particular scene reported was when Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) murdered a couple of series favorites, Sgt. Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun).
The gruesome murder was done by Negan bashing both men's head with a baseball bat covered in barbed wire, which he named Lucille. A scene considered as one of the most heart-breaking ones for the fans.
A representative for Ofcom released a statement saying, "We're investigating scenes of very strong violence shortly after the 9pm watershed, and whether these scenes were justified by the context."
FOX also revealed that they had cut several scenes from the series to protect the viewers before it aired in October 23rd. "As Fox Networks Group is regulated by Ofcom, we have a duty of care to ensure all our programmes broadcast adhere to the parameters of the Ofcom Broadcasting code," Fox said in a statement issued to Digital Spy.
Fans of the show, including Michael Cudlitz, who played one of the deceased characters, were quick to come in The Walking Dead's defense. In an interview, Cudlitz explained the gory nature of the show, saying: "We knew that was going to happen. In my opinion it's very important that it had that kind of shift," he said.
"We always knew that we were in a dangerous world, as far as the Walkers and the uncertainty of what was going on. But I think that the uncertainty now has been raised even higher."
