Airing without “The Walking Dead” lead-in support for the first time, Sunday’s “Into The Badlands” was obviously going to suffer significant declines in adults 18-49 and total viewership.
The question came down to whether the declines would take “Into The Badlands” out of the competitive mix.
They did not.
While down sharply from the 2.46 adults 18-49 rating and 5.166 million viewership total posted by last week’s post-“TWD” episode, the episode’s 1.06 rating and 2.424 million viewership mark are solid by typical cable standards.
The adults 18-49 rating, in fact, was the third-best for a cable original Sunday night. Only “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (1.44) and “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” (1.10) fared better.
If AMC anticipated the early “TWD” support turning “Into The Badlands” into its next blockbuster, this week’s performance is not promising.
If, however, it wanted to launch a solidly rated new drama series, Sunday’s performance was not particularly discouraging.