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AMC‘s The Walking Dead continues to grow and shatter basic cable records. Last night’s Season 2 finale of the zombie drama posted 9 million viewers and 6 million adults 18-49, hitting series highs in total viewers and all key demo categories. Vs. the Season 1 finale, The Walking Dead was up a big 51% in total viewers, 50% in adults 18-49 and 50% in adults 25-54 (5.3 million). The series eclipsed its previous highs, 8.1 million total viewers, 5.4 million in 18-49 and 4.4 million in 25-54 logged by the second season premiere. Those 18-49 and 25-54 deliveries were the highest ever for a basic cable drama series. Now they will be replaced in the record book by last night’s deliveries. The Walking Dead ranks as the No.1 drama series in basic cable history in such key demos as Adults and Men 18-34, Adults and Men 18-49, and Adults and Men 25-54. In total viewers, it has moved up to No.3 on the most watched basic cable telecast list, only behind the finale of USA’s Monk and an episode of TNT’s The Closer. For season 2, The Walking Dead averaged 6.9 million viewers, up 32% vs. season one, 4.6 million in adults 18-49 (up 32%) and 4 million in 25-54 (up 32%). “Congratulations to everyone associated with AMC’s The Walking Dead and thank you to the fans for creating, literally, record-setting television,” said AMC president Charlie Collier.
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NBC should be so lucky to get an audience that size!
Just goes to show, create a series with compelling characters, intense drama, and isn’t based on some silly gimmick or tired formula, and viewers will flock to you. People are desperate for something good to watch.
Now why can’t broadcast figure that out. Why do they keep tossing boring BS at us like Alcatraz and Terra Nova? They couldn’t show all the gore, but even a tamed-down TWD type series would still be a draw. We don’t want hokey mysteries and teen angst, just great characters battling against huge odds. Doesn’t have to be zombies, could be anything.
You’re not talking about the same show. Compelling characters? Intense drama? What?? If it didn’t have zombie cameos, this show would have zero viewers.
It’s compelling compared with broadcast! Lol, low bar…
Sounds like you are not interested in the show. So you really should just move along. Thanks for stopping by, buh-bye then.
I was wondering when will we see,more of the military and government still alive?there has got to be 100,s of thousnads of people left alive or millions alive in certain states?they do not show how the military tried to contain the situation.tell me what u think of this idea?
I agree M. Shanks, I hope they touch on this too.
The Walking Dead is not about the big event.. not about the disaster, not how it started nor how government reacts. The Walking Dead is a tale of survival, humanity, and the evolution of a post-apocalypse world.
We have already seen all the disaster movies and shows.. this is a story of what happens after… how (and if) people rebuild in the face of fear and lawlessness.
They most definitely deserve it! what a pleasure to watch.
I don’t know, scifi_fan. I suspect that that potential for some seriously George Romero-style gore was (initially) the reason many people started to turn into “The Walking Dead (pardon the pun).”
I know it was for me. Then, after my taste for fantasy violence was (somewhat) sated, I noticed the great chemistry between the characters.
Now, if there was no ultra-violence, would I have tuned in in the first place?
Probably not.
They’d lose some gore-hounds like you on broadcast, sure, but there’s no helping the FCC breathing down their necks and anyway those forensics shows get pretty gory so even on broadcast, they could get brutal at 10pm…The River has been fairly intense…
The difference is, The River is poorly written and has stupid characters who make you want them dead, while TWD has the kind of good writing and character chemistry that keeps people like you watching even during the inevitable episodes where intestines are not being splattered all over the place.
Broadcast has got to do something. If this isn’t a wakeup call, what is?
I find it to be a rather uneven show, but I keep coming back episode after episode. They must be doing something right over there. Try as I might, I just can’t quit you, Walking Dead.
Agreed. The characters change attitude and motivation on a dime, but the positives far outweigh such esoteric concerns and I look forward to each new episode.
My thoughts exactly. One week I’m blown away by how damn good it is, the next I’m balking at the unbelievable, poorly executed moments and shoddy character development, i.e. why do they allow Carl to wander around unattended all of the time, how can Lori have the audacity to get mad at Rick for the Shane incident when it’s obvious she instigated it with the little exchange she had with him right before he went crazy, why have they made Rick become an asshole overnight? Even so, I don’t miss an episode.
In a podcast, the showrunner addressed these things in fanmail. He said Carl would be on the loose a lot because thats how young boys are, and Lori cant just keep him locked up in a room.
At the end, watch the Rick/Lori convo again. I dont think Lori is directly upset with Rick, she is more mad at how it all went down, Rick keeping the infection secret, how Carl killed someone, and how their future looks.
I know this is a dumb question, but I thought Seinfeld had te record of like 70 million for the series finale. Someone please shed your knowledge for me. Thank you!
Mash holds the record for over 100 million. But this has to deal with cable, not broadcast television.
When the headline says “breaking records,” it means breaking records for a basic cable drama series.
So you can’t compare AMC’s Walking Dead with the Seinfeld finale which ran on broadcast with these numbers.
Also, you can’t compare basic cable sports or mini-series, either.
What does the Seinfeld finale, which aired on a (former) major network, NBC, have to do with The Walking Dead, which is on a basic cable network? That WAS a dumb question.
you showed them
lol
completely deserved
Horror dominates again
Tell that to The River, lol!
And drop it in the water! HA!
The big networks are going to try and clone this success.
Yup. NBC’s Revolution sounds like TWD only without zombies. Um.
I hope they got some better ideas than that!
They probably reached those large ratings with the help of some first-time viewers, a testament to the show’s marketing all week, in particular the :30 spot that set up the premise perfectly even for those who had never seen the show before. Not to mention it was another in a recent string of very strong episodes.
It’s going to be a long wait until next fall, but I would expect those ratings to go higher next fall once new viewers discover the first and second season episodes on DVD, Netflix, etc. I don’t think Walking Dead mania has peaked yet.
I agree with u somewhat scifi fan. TWD is hardly a perfect show. Lots of inconsistent writing and acting. But it illustrates the value of creative freedom amc gives its creative teams. Fox is too hands on with it’s shows which is why they struggle. Though I do like Alcatraz, i gave up early on terra nova. And I worry Alcatraz won’t be picked up nor will fringe which will leave a hole in scifi tv.
The weird thing about FOX is that they have no sci fi (or even fantasy-skewing) pilots picked up for next year. Haven’t they gotten the memo yet that we’re all bored to death of cop shows and lawyer shows and spy shows? How many of those need to fail till they realize that the problem with Alcatraz and Terra Nova is that they didn’t risk enough?
TWD, what? Inconsistent writing and acting?! What show are you watching? The Walking Dead has given us consistently great performances from the entire cast and the writing is on point. That is exactly why 8 million people tuned in.
The writing is on point?
You mean how Lori goes from being Lady MacBeth several episodes ago, hanging over Rick’s shoulder and practically begging him to get rid of Shane, to being uber pissed off when Rick actually does the deed?
Rick: “Hey honey, remember how we agreed Shane was a problem? Well he proved it again by trying to kill me. But don’t worry I killed him first and when zombie Shane was about to kill me, your son saved my life.”
Lori: “You monster!”
Or how about how Rick apparently knows that everyone is infected (from what Jenner told him), but is still blindsided by zombie Shane?
Or how about Hershel’s magic shotgun that never seems to run out of bullets?
Or how about how how T-Dog is nothing more than a field-hand, digging graves and becoming a mute?
Or how about ninja zombie being able to sneak up on Dale in a dead quiet, huge open field???
Or what about how Carl gets nearly fatally shot and within a couple episodes is walking around like nothing ever happened. Yet in the same episode, T-Dog is still wearing the bandage for the cut he got on the highway before Carl was shot? Is Carl Wolverine with super healing powers?
I could go on, but it’s late.
The Walking Dead is stupid, irritating characters, doing stupid, irritating things in between giving long winded, dramatic speeches and having motivations that turn on a dime to suit whatever new, silly plot contrivance the terrible writers cook up.
Truth, you are not wrong in your breakdown of the stories/dialog/plot points. The problems you list out were 100% avoidable and demonstrate writer confusion and laziness. And yet we continue to watch because the show can hold tension (and is better than most of network tv). Let’s hope that the writers have moved on from the season 2 showrunner turmoil and get it together for Season 3.
lol, a couple of your points were true, ill give you Hersels shotty, and the ninja walker..
But it seems everyone is misunderstanding Lori’s freakout… If u watch that scene again, she does not react when Rick says he killed Shane. She starts to react when he says Carl shot zombie shane and the Jenner secret. Shes mad that Carls no longer her little boy, and how casual Rick handling it, and the Jenner secret. Rick tries to console her but shes realizing how fcked their lives really are, ..shes not mad rick defended himself.
And Rick was surprised at zombie-shane because he didnt (want) to believe Jenner… doesnt know how fast ppl can turn.
T-dog has no lines, so what. It was a big cast. If the story doesnt go in his direction, why force the face time.
Everybody complained season 2 got boring and stayed at the farm too long.. well imagine if Carls “healing” went on another 5 episodes… its Fiction, details are spared for the good of the big picture.
People keep watching it because it’s goddamn entertaining and that’s the only reason.
Cast and writing etc is horrible and on the same level as a freaking soap but if you have some big action scene’s once a while were people bash zombies skulls, people will keep watching because it’s fun to see and funny as hell. (it’s funnier then most sitcoms)
Dont worry! A lot of people are going to talk about your viewpoint negatively but its just not the case. You are correct. The writing IS on point! People on these high horses talk about how the people change from episode to episode but have you LIVED in real life before? REAL people change in the same SENTENCE let alone another episode. It simply shows how people change in the zombie revolution and how obtuse the change can be! The writing is great, the story lines are great and its just going to get better! Just the fact that you hate & love characters shows you that they are doing their job!
Good to see a different new show continuing to have success.
One of the few shows that I actually find worth planning around – love it!
Not a big Zombie Fan…but I have watched every episode and I disagree with those who say the writing is poor. I think it’s fantastic. No character is safe and they’re all infected. It makes for great drama to know you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t (die)…I love the show and I am going to buy all the comics.
AMC’s companion show The Talking Dead is also very enjoyable.
Some of the characters behave ahem somewhat inconsistently…which you could chalk up to either bad writing or just zombie-induced PTSD. The suspicion is that the writers are using the situation to cover up some conveeeenient writing…oh well, I’ll let it slide as long as they entertain me.
My thoughts exactly.
Why do they keep cutting the budget for this show if its doing better than their others?? doesnt make sense. Think what it would be like if they got all their budget!?
Yeah, they could afford decent writers for season 3.
The best thing TWD has is its writing. Ask anyone involved, they always say the scripts are excellent and what make TWD so good. A
Enough said I can’t even leave my couch because the show is too intense!
My favourite part is when they kill zombies! Lol, I love season 2 finally, can’t wait for 3
I watched this series from the 1st ep, I love it no matter what @$$& happens, showing the house at the end of the show made me think there in for more trouble and were there camping I the night looks really Erie… I want Rick to get a machine gun one ep and just plow zombies to save his team!
It wasnt a house genius,it was a prison in the end of Season 3,if that is what your saying.
hey i like love this sometimes just not the scary parts!!!!
I don’t watch the show but did tune in to see the bad-ass black woman hack off a zombie head with a sword. Little did I know that would happen in the last 2 minutes.
I’ll watch some of next season to see where that goes.
If this doesn’t boost ratings for the Mad Men premiere, I give up on humanity. Or the Nielsens. Or both.
I love TWD, but I’d say that Fringe deserves to have this much attention. Best show on TV. I’d go so far as to say TWD is the second best current drama on TV. For me.
I like the show in spite of itself. Most of the characters could get killed and I wouldn’t mind – some of them I keep hoping will get taken out (thanks for Shane and Dale, now Lori next, please) and some are just wasted completely. They have one black guy in the cast and he plays no part in the show – he spent the entire season chopping and stacking wood, delivering 4 or maybe 5 lines combined. It’s embarrassing.
Gotta agree with you, Gordon. Besides wanting Lori to die a gruesome death from zombies biting her from the ankles up, T-Dog has been window dressing for most of this season. Hell, even wimpy Carol had more to do than him.
In the scene where they’re driving the truck away from the farm, and T-Dog tells the women they’re not going back but they insist? That would have been a perfect place for us to learn a little more about him. I thought of so many comments a man (and a black man) would have made in that situation, but he folded like a lawn chair.
Who do I speak to about getting a job doing ‘color commentary’ on that show? LOL
disappointing and don’t really care about this show anymore. why do these people drive around in circles shooting at zombies? cuz it makes for an exciting episode but it doesn’t make sense and it’s lazy writing. and why did the zombies suddenly attack the farm too?
Amazing. You watched the episode, and yet you speak like you didn’t even watch it at all. That’s some potent ignorance right there.
If you noticed in half of the series it focused on how the living dealt with the apocalypse, not shooting the walking dead. Also, remember, the walking dead, due to sheer numbers, broke through the fence surrounding the farm. They were diverted from their initial path through the forest and headed for the farm only because they heard the sound of the gunshot from Carl’s gun when he shot zombie shane.
wow, was the finale the first ep you watched? Even so, they show you in the begining how the zombies migrated in the direction, and how Shanes gunshot while being stabbed, triggered all nearby walkers.
Driving in circles so they dont get bitten or surrounded, duh.
If zombies come for real, ill drive the car in circles, you can stand there or ride a bike.
TheWalkingDead @AMC s2 last epi was breathtaking, kicky, heart stopping, rip roaring, and mind boggling–epic finale indeed! ‘can’t wait ’til fall for the next season!