The Walking Dead returned last weekend in the US and it officially changed cable TV history…
Attracting a huge 17.3 million viewers, which doesn’t include those that have recorded the show which would take the viewership up to a mind blowing 22 million, the season 5 opener attracted more than 2 million more viewers than the season 4 finale.
As popularity of the show grows, AMC has already approved a sixth season, before Season 5 had even premiered.
Given these numbers on Sunday, The Walking Dead officially became the most watched drama in cable history, annihilating the previous record holder High School Musical by over 100,000 much cooler viewers. It even beat Sunday Night football by roughly 2.5 million viewers – that means that 2.5 million people chose to watch Zombies rather than sport; now this is a world I’m happy to live in.
Once ratings from across the world are considered, The Walking Dead will have an even larger fanbase than expected. When Season 1 first premiered four years ago, a ‘mere’ 5.3 million viewers tuned in to witness Rick begin his journey, enough to secure a second season. With an increase of over 15 million viewers, just imagine how many more seasons this will secure!
However it does seem like it has been a good week for American TV; Gotham, airing on Fox (Channel 5 in the UK) has had its first season extended from 16 episodes to 22 episodes, whereas American Horror Story has been approved for a fifth season. The big question is, will its leading lady Jessica Lange renew her contract for a fifth season? We’ll have to wait and see.
Originally published October 15, 2014. Updated December 15, 2019.
