The Walking 7.3 Million

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I'm not a huge ratings follower.  I used to be, but anymore I just keep up on what's hitting with the masses and what isn't.  Sometimes it's just to know if I should stick with a show or if it will be cancelled out from under me (Pan Am, Prime Suspect, I am very worried.).  I frequent the exhaustively wonderful site TV by the Numbers and at times The Futon Critic.  They are two comprehensive resources for the number and TV geek in us all.

However, some recent ratings news gave me pause.  The second season premiere of AMC's The Walking Dead raised 7.3 million viewers during its first airing Sunday night.  If you add in the second showing (which aired immediately following) the numbers climb to 11 million total viewers.  And this doesn't include anybody that watches the show on DVR later this week.

For comparison's sake, more people watched the first showing of The Walking Dead than watched the last new scripted episode of:

• Happy Endings, Charlie's Angels, Private Practice, Pan Am on ABC
• A Gifted Man, How To Be a Gentleman on CBS
• Terra Nova, House, Raising Hope, Fringe, The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, American Dad on FOX
• everything on NBC
• everything on The CW

If you count the whole 11 million that watched both showings on Sunday, then the only broadcast shows (scripted or not) that beat it are:

• Dancing With the Stars, Last Man Standing, Modern Family on ABC
• Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly, NCIS, NCIS:  LA, Unforgettable, Criminal Minds, Big Bang Theory, Person of Interest, The Mentalist, Blue Bloods, 60 Minutes on CBS
• America's Night of Football on NBC

In the coveted 18-49 demographic, it outperformed:

• Every broadcast show on Sunday night, except Football Night in America on NBC
• Every broadcast show on Friday night.
• Every broadcast show on Thursday night, except Big Bang Theory.
• Every broadcast show on Wednesday night, except Modern Family; it tied with Criminal Minds.
• Every broadcast show on Tuesday night, except NCIS
• Every broadcast show on Monday night, except HIMYM, 2 Broke Girls, Two and a Half Men and Mike & Molly.

Surely these numbers will cool off, but I'm not sure by how much.  The season premiere episode was mostly stunning, and I can't help to think that people won't be back after that cliffhanger.  I may do a full review later, because I was wiped out after the show aired.