Cable TV saw its biggest series debut of 2010 with the premiere of AMC’s The Walking Dead, whose first episode had 5.3 million total viewers—the most ever for an AMC original show—and 3.6 million watchers in the 18-49 demographic, the TV network said in a press statement released on Monday.
The Walking Dead is the television adaptation of the zombie comic book series of the same name and is produced by Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile). Viewers will follow the protagonist, policeman Rick Grimes, as he navigates his way around amidst a zombie apocalypse.
Its premiere aired Sunday night on Halloween, garnering widespread critical acclaim. Metacritic.com, which aggregates reviews from critics and assigns a score out of a 100 for shows and films, gave The Walking Dead an 85.
“It’s a good day to be dead. We are so proud of this series, its depth of storytelling and the remarkable talent attached,” said AMC president Charlie Collier in the statement.
“As the network dedicated to bringing viewers the best stories on television, we are so pleased to have the opportunity with The Walking Dead to raise the bar within this popular genre and continue our commitment to being the home of premium television on basic cable.”
The previous week, people dressed as zombies roamed Times Square in New York and public areas in 25 other cities to promote the show. Zombies were found in Washington D.C., Taipei, and Hong Kong, and organizers designed the style and costumes of the zombies to make them as realistic as possible.
The Walking Dead airs on the AMC network on Sundays at 10 ET / 9 CT.
