Posted on 08/25/2015 8:06:38 PM PDT by Drew68
AMC has absolutely nothing to fear from Sunday night’s ratings.
The network’s The Walking Dead companion series got off to a huge start.
The 90-minute series premiere of Fear the Walking Dead delivered 10.1 million viewers and an incredible 6.3 rating among adults 18-49.
That makes Fear the biggest series premiere in cable TV history in both total viewers and key demos.
“Thank you and congratulations to Robert Kirkman, Dave Erickson, the brilliant executive producers and the entire cast and crew of Fear the Walking Dead,” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC. “It is increasingly difficult to evaluate a show’s success on night one. However, we are releasing these live/same day ratings because Fear the Walking Dead delivered record-breaking numbers that are all the more special in this era of time-shifted viewing and audience fragmentation. To have a companion series to the #1 show on television driving communal, urgent viewing, social activity and pop cultural relevance of this magnitude is truly differentiating. Of course none of it is possible without the fans, whose passion leads to these remarkable results.”
The prequel series tells the story of a Los Angeles family at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse.
AMC’s aftershow Talking Dead season 6 preview special delivered 4.2 million viewers.
Back in 2010, the flagship Walking Dead series debuted to 5.4 million viewers—which was considered quite high at the time. The zombie drama’s ratings have grown every year since, with the most recent fifth season premiering to a record 17.3 million viewers last fall. Fear getting such a strong start bodes well for the show’s future, though some critics found the first episode a tad sluggish.
For more, check out EW’s recap of Fear the Walking Dead and our interview with showrunner Dave Erickson breaking down the premiere. And is “Where’s Nick?” the new “Where’s Carl?”
ping
I like TWD, but I thought the premier of FTWD was lacking.
And it wasn’t even all that great.
At least with the Walking Dead you don’t hope zombies will eat main characters. (aside from Lori)
News?
Activism?
Don’t try to tell me that the streetwise drug dealing Calvin can’t survive the zombie apocalypse but the heroin addicted semi male can.
And yes I have doubts that the druggie would have won the struggle for the gun.
I liked the premise of the show and the characters and acting were / was pretty good. I think it will get better over time.
I recorded and watched the 1st 15 minutes, will finish tomorrow, pretty boring so far, but I understand they need to do plot and character development.
Big premiere.
Big letdown.
Storyline and acting need much work.
Many were rooting for the zombies by the end of the first episode.
Lacking? It blew chunks.
THe actors are MEH...the hipster LA druggy dude wearing a girls shirt...wtf? this crap better get good fast or its not coming back on my house
Definitely needs development. I’ll give it a chance.
Definance on SyFy had an good first season, the second blew chunks, but this season has been top notch. I’m also looking forward to Z nation which is like walking dead with some much needed humor.
Defiance second season was so bad, brother and I dropped it after about 5 episodes. Maybe I’ll give it another try. Z Nation is fun, but just kind of stopped watching - no real reason. There was some good humor. I’m really enjoying their new SciFi shows (Dark Matter and Killjoys) - hope they continue to try to actually show Sci Fi.
I thought it was tedious. BUT, because TWD is so well done I am more likely to watch it again.
I only have one more year in the “key” demographic, so I feel like I have to be up on this stuff. Starting next year I drop into the Old Fogey demo.
I hope they make it worth my while.
Agreed. TWD had/has compelling characters you can relate to. This spin-off features a loser heroin addict and an unlikeable teen aged girl.
Has a long way to go to equal TWD i’m afraid.
I do to. It's a really compelling premise. TWD had Rick Grimes awaking in a world already overrun with zombies. This gave the show the advantage of starting off in a full sprint.
This is a different story. I expect it to start off slow and build. We'll know by the season's end if the showrunners succeeded or not. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I'm pretty sure that was his girlfriend's shirt.
Anyways, he either cleans up or becomes zombie food. I can't imagine people with serious substance abuse issues would fare well in the zombie apocalypse.
Interesting. I wonder if it is going to be set there. I can't imagine a storyline where Grimes and his crew roadtrip across the United States.
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