Critically-acclaimed for the duration of its run, AMC’s “Breaking Bad” has never been a ratings juggernaut.
Its numbers have improved as more and more viewers found themselves hooked on the dark adventures of Walter White, but their glow has always been within the realm of cable and AMC standards. A “The Walking Dead”-level phenomenon “Breaking Bad” is not.
Or, was not.
No, Sunday’s season 5.2 premiere did not deliver numbers on par with those of AMC’s zombie series. But with a whopping 2.8 adults 18-49 rating and 5.9 million total viewers, the episode garnered numbers of note for any television series–cable or broadcast.
A clear series high, the rating represents a 102% increase over that for last summer’s season 5.1 premiere. It also represented valuable lead-in support for new series “Low Winter Sun,” which opened to the tune of 2.5 million viewers.
New recap show “Talking Bad,” which aired after “Sun,” averaged 1.2 million.
Sunday’s “Breaking Bad” marked the first of the series’ final eight episodes.