The Walking Dead has new competition…its spin-off.
Fear the Walking Dead, the new prequel/spin-off series to AMC’s The Walking Dead, had record-breaking ratings for its first episode.
The new show drew in over 10.1 million viewers, a majority of them in the 18-48 demographic, making it the biggest series premiere in cable TV history.
AMC president Charlie Collier had this to say about Fear’s incredible debut:
“Thank you and congratulations to Robert Kirkman, Dave Erickson, the brilliant executive producers and the entire cast and crew of Fear the Walking Dead. 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.”
Fear the Walking Dead is set on the west coast, as opposed to its eastern sister series, and it follows a family fighting to survive at the very beginning of the mysterious zombie apocalypse.
With fantastic ratings, and strong critical reception (we really liked the pilot too), Fear the Walking Dead is shaping up to be another big success for AMC. Heck, a second season has already been ordered, that doesn’t happen very often.
Catch Fear the Walking Dead, Sundays on AMC.
