The Walking Dead | Gene Page/AMC
After two consecutive weeks of increases, “The Walking Dead” endured ratings losses this week.
It did, however, take the Sunday crown in adults 18-49.
According to live+same-day data posted by Showbuzz, the Easter Sunday edition of “The Walking Dead” drew a 2.63 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 6.30 million overall viewers.
The numbers trail the 2.95 rating and 6.77 million viewer mark drawn by the previous episode. They also rank as season lows.
Context should, however, prevent any dwelling on that “season low” distinction.
For starters, the episode aired on the Easter holiday. It also faced competition from the second hour of NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar: Live In Context” special.
Perhaps more importantly, the adults 18-49 rating convincingly ranks as the best posted by any program (whether on broadcast or cable) Sunday night. “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the #2 program, drew a 1.7.
The rating should also be the second best for a scripted program this week (below “Rosanne,” assuming that show does not completely collapse in week two).
“The Walking Dead” led into “Talking Dead,” which drew a 0.87 in the demo and 2.37 million in overall viewers.