The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live raises AMC Universe viewership from the grave

Last Updated on March 5, 2024

A new chapter in The Walking Dead saga has premiered on AMC. The show has gone through a lot of cast members and two characters who have survived it all, Rick and Michonne, are now on a personal journey together in a post-post apocalyptic world. The show premiered this past week and in a review from our own Alex Maidy, he stated, “Regardless of how exposition-heavy this premiere episode is, there is still something great about seeing zombies on screen, and the make-up work by The Walking Dead crew never disappoints. I just hope that this first episode was a requisite recap on the way to bigger and better storytelling in the chapters to follow. For now, I am lukewarm on The Ones Who Live, and that is being generous.”

The sequel series started off with a bang as a shocking turn took place. With the writers aiming to keep things fresh and perhaps with the loyal fans returning, Bloody Disgusting reports that the ratings for The Ones Who Live have spelled good news for AMC again, as the last entries have lacked the viewership that the original show had in its heyday. According to The Wrap, AMC is boasting about the ratings, saying the premiere episode “delivered 3 million viewers during its premiere week, according to Nielsen Live +3 ratings.” They illustrate further, “These premiere ratings are the biggest AMC has seen for a new show in six years. […] The first episode of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is the most-watched episode of any show on the [AMC+] platform. Though AMC didn’t give any specific numbers, the two-day viewership total for the premiere has already outpaced the first week of viewership for any season premiere on the platform.”

The president of entertainment for AMC Studios for AMC Networks, Dan McDermott, expressed his enthused surprise of the reception, “What a start for The Ones Who Live, the biggest episode of television in the history of AMC+ for both viewership and customer acquisition, the top cable drama of the current TV season in key demos and our biggest AMC series premiere in six years. This is a show the world, and particularly the incredibly passionate and engaged fans of this universe, have been waiting for and essentially willed into existence. Thanks to Danai, Andy and Scott for everything it took to get here and all that is yet to come. We can’t wait to share the rest of this incredible season with the fans over the next five weeks.”

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live airs Sundays on AMC and AMC+.