The season premiere of "The Walking Dead" was an eyebrow-raiser for sure. The executions of Abraham and Glenn was much more brutal and violent than many were prepared for. In what could have been an emotionally intense scene with the death of two loved characters, fans witnessed a scene that was beyond brutal. Abraham's head was pulverized by the barbed wire bat and Glen was hit so hard his eye popped out.

The season opener stirred quite a bit of controversy. With it being on AMC rather than a channel like HBO, there are strict guidelines for show creators and producers to follow.

The Parents Television Council president (Tim Winters) raised questions about the rating of MA (mature audiences). He was concerned because the show is on early enough to not be allowed to use the "f-word," but the level of violence was just too graphic for cable TV.

Did too much violence cost them fans?

Many fans felt that the show went overboard on the brutality. Social media posts leaned toward it being too much, even for a zombie apocalypse. "The Walking Dead" has always been at the top of the ratings, but after the premiere, the production team saw a decline. Less viewers are coming back for more now that the level of violence has been raised.

The producer of "The Walking Dead" (Gale Anne Hurd) recently was part of a panel at the NATPE conference.

According to Forbes, she said that they had heard the fans and were taking the criticism seriously. In the future episodes that still need to be taped for season 7, the level of violence will be toned down. Hurd also said that the series is not "a torture porn" show.

What about Negan gutting Spencer?

Well, though it isn't confirmed, the guess is that the scene was filmed before the producers decided to tone down the violence.

The question becomes: was that too much violence as well? According to the buzz on social media, fans were not complaining about the violence of Spencer's demise as they did for Abraham and Glenn. The big difference is that with Spencer, it was over and done, while in the premiere, it seemed to drag on way too long.