The Walking Dead: Season 2 ratings are in and America’s thirst for zombie head smashing has never been healthier. Several of the big networks are surely jealous of the impressive numbers put up by the apocalyptic drama in its second season debut.
During its first airing at 9pm last night, The Walking Dead: Season 2 premiere ‘What Lies Ahead’ was met by 7.3 million hungry viewers. Last season’s finale drew 5.6 million viewers which, at the time, was a series high. The Season 2’s premiere is a 30 percent increase on that previous high mark and 38 percent higher than last season’s average.
Signaling what I believe to be an imminent move by AMC to renew The Walking Dead for a third season are the 18-49 advertiser friendly ratings. Of the 7.3 million viewers who tuned into the first airing, 4.8 million of them fell into the 18-49 bracket. According to AMC, that breaks a 10-year old ratings record for a basic cable series.
Also on the records front, The Walking Dead: Season 2 premiere attracted 4.2 million in the 25-54 demo, another new high mark for cable. That’s two records AMC and its zombies now claim as their own. Are more to follow?
By the time Sunday night closed and AMC had aired The Walking Dead: Season 2 premiere three consecutive times, roughly 11 million total viewers tuned in to watch a herd of zombies wreck havoc on a small band of disheveled survivors.
For more on The Walking Dead: Season 2, read our review of ‘What Lies Ahead’ and check out a Q/A with star Jon Bernthal.
