So much for the concern about whether AMC, best known for dramas “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad,” could generate mass interest in a premiere.
Sunday’s premiere of “The Walking Dead” bowed to a strong 3.2 adults 18-49 rating with 5.3 million viewers. The rating made for the best cable series premiere of 2010 and the best original series performance ever on AMC. From a viewership perspective, it also immediately situates the series with pop culture phenomenon “True Blood.”
“It’s a good day to be dead. We are so proud of this series, its depth of storytelling and the remarkable talent attached,” said Charlie Collier, AMC’s president. “As the network dedicated to bringing viewers the best stories on television, we are so pleased to have the opportunity with ‘The Walking Dead’ to raise the bar within this popular genre and continue our commitment to being the home of premium television on basic cable.”
The cable network added that the critically-acclaimed premiere scored a cumulative total of 8.1 million viewers when data from the 11:30PM and 1AM repeats was added to the 10PM premiere.
For the initial airing, the show did 3.1 million adults 25-54, 3.6 million 18-49 and 2.1 million 18-34.