"It's just demoralizing": Fear the Walking Dead is the latest example of Hollywood ageism

The Hollywood Reporter

"It's the same old story," Maureen Ryan says of Sunday's episode of the AMC series. "I'm tired," she adds. "Like a character on a zombie show, I'm exhausted from fighting the same battles over and over again." Ryan says Sunday's death "is infuriating for a lot of reasons," adding: "The decision to kill off one of TV's — and cable's — rare mature female leads is baffling. The simple truth is: Shows aimed at the mainstream, not to mention programs with a genre premise, rarely cast women over 40 in the most important role. Ignoring this context and history, just to give viewers another tiresome 'major death,' represents a massive lapse in judgment. The fact that this decision comes from The Walking Dead franchise, which has come under fire for its treatment of women and people of color in the past, is even more depressing."