Déjà vu of the dead...
I thought this already happened several weeks ago, but it seems like that was a rumor. Now, the official story from Deadline is that, even with only two episodes aired, THE WALKING DEAD has already been renewed by AMC for a second, 13-episode-long season. That’s going to surprise absolutely nobody who’s been paying attention, because the show’s been doing absurd numbers stateside and across every corner of the world (seriously, it broke premiere records in 120 countries.) They’re even saying that it’s the most successful cable TV show debut in history, reaching more viewers in the elusive “18-49” bracket than any other.
Hmm... if an unsubstantiated rumor comes true eventually, what does that make the rumor? A premonition of the future? Augurs in ancient Rome "read" bird entrails to make predictions - - perhaps the zombie-heads did something similar with their kind of guts here?
Putting my morbid thoughts aside and getting back on point, there’s a quote from Sharon Tal Yguado, one of AMC’s Vice Presidents, that’s actually rather telling about the success of the show…
I think it's telling because, if you substitute "seasons" for volumes, then that's pretty much what Kirkman's been saying from day one. Where a lot of other people are trying to hurry from the comic to the movie deal, he was committed to making the comic work, telling the stories he wanted to tell and reaching the audience until they became diehard regulars. Making the comic work first before going after the gravy. That's what's translating, here, I feel.“I wish all programming decisions were no brainers like this one… Walking Dead’ is a TV masterpiece on so many levels. We want at least 10 seasons, if not more. Kudos to AMC!”
The shows been's taking some liberties from the comic but, honestly, are any of you actually having an issue with that? Getting back to what I was saying, Kirkman even kept his core audience in mind for this and encouraged digression, lest the audience be bored by seeing the same twists and turns all over again..
Anyway, for the mathletes and the bean counters in the Comic Vine community, here are the actual numbers…
EPISODE 1
- 10pm airing - 3.7 HH rating with over 5.3 million total viewers;
- Adults 18-49 - 3.6 million viewers;
- Adults 25-54 - 3.1 million viewers;
- Men 18-49 - 2.0 million viewers.
EPISODE 2
- 10pm airing – 3.1 HH rating with over 4.7 million viewers;
- Adults 18-49 – 3.3 million viewers;
- Adults 25-54 – 2.8 million viewers;
- Men 18-49 – 2.1 million viewers.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
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