After 5 seasons, you’d think THE WALKING DEAD would have reached its ratings peak–but no. We won’t have official numbers until tomorrow, but AMC is reporting that last night’s Season 5 premiere was the show’s most watched episode ever, both in total viewers (17.3M) and in 18-49s (approximately an 8.8 rating, compared to last season’s 8.2 premiere). That should almost certainly put it above last night’s SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, and the only piece of primetime TV for the week that may be its equal is the overrun for FOX’s afternoon NFL game. Amazingly, Walking Dead‘s ratings are twenty times the numbers AMC has gotten from Turn and Halt and Catch Fire, series that did well enough for the network to earn second season renewals. Small wonder AMC has a Walking spinoff on the way.
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About the Author
Mitch Salem
MITCH SALEM has worked on the business side of the entertainment industry for 20 years, as a senior business affairs executive and attorney for such companies as NBC, ABC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, and BermanBraun Productions, and before that, at the NY law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. During all that, he has more or less constantly been going to the movies and watching TV, and writing about both since the 1980s. His film reviews also currently appear on screened.com and the-burg.com. In addition, he is co-writer of an episode of the television series "Felicity."
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