Yahoo News The Walking Dead "tones down violence" after backlash
An executive producer of The Walking Dead has promised to "tone down" the violence, after an audience backlash to gory images in the first half of the show's seventh season.
During a Walking Dead panel at the National Association of Television Program Executives conference in Miami, Gale Anne Hurd said that the level of violence will be lessened in the back eight episodes, which will air in February.
But with all-out war promised between Alexandria and The Saviours, we're kind of struggling to see how it's possible.
Related: Everything you need to know about The Walking Dead 7B
"We were able to look at the feedback on the level of violence," Hurd said (via Variety).
"We did tone it down for episodes we were still filming for later on in the season."
So perhaps this is why fans were not shown Fat Joey's more grisly end during the midseason finale...
In the UK, Ofcom launched an investigation after fans complained about the violence in the seventh season's opening episode 'The Day Will Come When You Won't Be', where popular characters Abraham Ford and Glenn Rhee were bludgeoned to death by Negan's baseball bat Lucille.
However, FOX got the official thumbs-up from the regulator last week, as the channel "took appropriate steps to edit the programme" for its 9pm showing.
The midseason finale 'Hearts Still Beating' turned stomachs too, with Spencer eviscerated by Negan in similarly brutal scenes.
"This is not a show that is torture porn," Hurd went on to say, promising that producers are taking greater consideration in future episodes to make sure "we don't cross that line."
The Walking Dead will return on February 12 on AMC in the US and February 13 on FOX in the UK.
Don't forget to vote for your favourite TV shows in this year's National Television Awards! Shortlist voting closes at 12 midday on Wednesday, January 25.
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