Walking Dead Scares Up Least Watched Premiere in 3 Years

Season one of the spin-off series “Fear the Walking Dead” wrapped up with a cliffhanger which sees the characters trying to escape the zombies in Los Angeles by getting offshore aboard Strand’s yacht called “Abigail”. Talking Dead, the chat show that analyzes each episode, averaged 5.7 million viewers, down from the 6.9 million for last fall’s premiere. That year-ago opener remains the show’s highest-rated telecast on record.

The season six premiere bested competitor “Sunday Night Football” on NBC in the 18-49 demographic, though the New York Giants’ victory over the San Francisco 49ers came ahead in total viewers with 16.13 million.

AMC will release “live plus-3” ratings information on Friday for Sunday’s “Dead” premiere, which could garner larger percentage gains than usual due to its expanded 90-minute running time.

The arrival of the Wolves (the TV show’s version of the Scavengers) and the deaths of a few major Safe-Zone residents should take the TV series through the end of “The Walking Dead: Compendium Two”, which collects Issues 49 through 96 of Kirkman’s comic series.

Did the season 6 premiere of “The Walking Dead” have a subtle yet major reveal about Maggie and Glenn? The 2014 season launched with an 8.7 adults 18-49 rating and 17.286 million viewers. These numbers rose in L+3 to a 5.15 in the demo and 10.11 million total viewers, capping the highest-rated season for any program in cable history.