The Walking Dead season 9 finale receives lowest ratings in show's history

*Warning* Contains spoilers for the Walking Dead season 9 finale

The season 9 finale of The Walking Dead was the lowest-rated finale in the show's history, it has been revealed.

According to the Nielsen Live+Same Day ratings, via Variety, the final episode of the show's ninth season averaged a 1.9 rating in adults aged 18 - 49 and 5 million viewers.

While this marked a 20 per cent increase on both counts compared to the previous episode, it showed a 44 per cent decrease in the show's key demographic and 37 per cent in total viewers, compared to the season 8 finale.

It was noted that, regardless, The Walking Dead has seen an average of 52 per cent Live+3 growth among its demographic and 47 per cent in total viewers for the first seven episodes of the second half of the seaosn (for which data is available) – and is still the highest-rated show on cable, and one of the highest-rated scripted TV shows.

The Independent's critic Jacob Stolworthy called the season 9 finale "a far tamer affair" than the previous episode's death-filled outing.

He wrote that the closing scene of the finale appeared to tease what looks like the show's "biggest world expansion yet" – as former Kingdom leader Ezekiel (Khary Payton) walks away as the camera remains fixed on the radio, where an unknown voice is heard saying: "Hello, can you hear me? Is anybody out there?"

The Walking Dead returns to Fox and AMC in October.