'The Walking Dead' Season Finale SMASHES Cable Ratings

(Wait a minute? How many tuned in last night?)

Last night while writing up the season 2 finale of The Walking Dead, I believe I scribbled somewhere in there that it will probably bust out the TV ratings... again.

And boy, did it!

Over 9 million viewers tuned in to The Walking Dead's season finale, giving it a 5.8 HH rating.

It became the No. 1 drama series in the history of basic cable amongst adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.  (Note that it's Adults & Men)

The press release says it delivered viewers.  I'd like to suggest it sucked us in for some pretty decent, brain-smashing entertainment!  But that's just me.

That's cool news, considering this is a fantasy/sci-fi genre type TV series and people are seeing past the obvious because of the great writing and well plotted action!  In other words, AMC hit it out of the park yet again with another show.

For the detailed oriented, check out the press release that AMC sent out:

New York, NY – March 19, 2011 – Last night’s season two finale at 9pm EST of AMC’s original series, “The Walking Dead” was the highest rated episode in series history. It delivered a 5.8 HH rating delivering 9 million viewers.  AMC’s “The Walking Dead” is the number one drama series in basic cable history for key demos including: Adults and Men 18-34, Adults and Men 18-49, and Adults and Men 25-54. The finale grew more than 50% in total viewers over season one.

Source: The Nielsen Company. Live+SD, M-Su 8p-11p. (1993 - 3/18/12), Program Type: Original, Series- Drama, Telecast level among A/M 18-34, 18-49& 25-54 AA(000). TWD Su 9pm vs. weekly broadcast ranked on A/M18-34 & 18-49 AA (000) – excludes weeks  2/20-2/26/12 and 2/27-3/4/12 among A18-49 AA (000).

Key Nielsen Highlights for the season two finale of “The Walking Dead”:

• 9pm airing – 5.8 HH rating with 9 million viewers: +41%/+51% vs. Season 1 Finale
• 9pm airing – 6 million Adults 18-49:  +50% vs Season 1 Finale
• 9pm airing – 5.3 million Adults 25-54: +50% vs Season 1 Finale
• 9 pm, 11:30 pm - cumed to 10.5 million viewers

Key Highlights for “The Walking Dead” – season two series:

o         Season average – 4.6 HH RTG and 6.9 million viewers: 31% and 32% vs. season one

o         Adults 18-49 – 4.6 million: +32% vs. season one

o         Adults 25-54 – 4 million +32% vs. season one

"Congratulations to everyone associated with AMC's ‘The Walking Dead’ and thank you to the fans for creating, literally, record-setting television,” said Charlie Collier, AMC’s president. 

“The Walking Dead” secured a 2010 Golden Globe nomination for best television series and won the 2011 Emmy award for outstanding prosthetic make-up. The series tells the story of the months and years that follow the zombie apocalypse. It tracks a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safety and security.  The story explores the challenges of life in a world overrun by zombies, the toll it takes on the survivors, and how sometimes the interpersonal conflicts present a greater danger to survival than the zombies themselves. Over time, the characters are changed by the constant exposure to death, some growing willing to do anything to survive.

“The Walking Dead” received rave reviews from countless critics, both domestic and international, who heralded the series as “thrilling” (The Hollywood Reporter), “…with Dead’s riveting cast of characters, the personal dynamics are almost as potent as the gory thrills” (US Weekly), “The Walking Dead is a feast.  Dig in.” (The Guardian- UK),   “It doesn’t even take three minutes to realize that this series is setting standards” (Der Tagesspiegel-Germany).

About AMC

AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to ever win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe® Award for Best Television Series - Drama for three consecutive years.  Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories.  AMC's original stories include “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Killing” and “Hell on Wheels.”  AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with its slate of unscripted original series, as well as curated movie franchises like AMC’s Can’t Get Enough and AMC’s Crazy About.  Available in more than 97 million homes (Source: Nielsen Media Research), AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv.  AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile.  AMC: Story Matters Here^SM.

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= -Bruce