This Week’s The Walking Dead Had the Lowest Premiere Ratings Since Season Three

The Walking Dead reaching eight seasons and 100 episodes is certainly a momentous accomplishment—unfortunately for AMC, this did not translate to stellar ratings, according to Nielsen data. Per Variety, the season eight premiere of the zombie drama returned the lowest ratings for a premiere episode (5.0, 11.4 million total viewers) since season three of the show.

In comparison, the season seven premiere (which picked up after an absurd cliffhanger) hit 8.4 in the 18-49 demographic and 17.03 million total viewers.

From Variety:

Season 5 (8.7, 17.29 million)
Season 7 (8.4, 17.03 million)
Season 4 (8.2, 16.11 million)
Season 6 (7.4, 14.63 million)
Season 3 (5.8, 10.86 million)
Season 8 (5.0, 11.4 million)
Season 2 (3.8, 7.26 million)
Season 1 (2.7, 5.35 million)

Still, as that report points out, these ratings are comparable to those of broadcast television juggernauts like The Big Bang Theory and This Is Us. But a violent and nihilistic seventh season of The Walking Dead may have turned off many viewers from continuing the show—thus, AMC and the creative minds behind the show are banking on stunts like a crossover with Fear the Walking Dead to add some energy and excitement to the show.

Check out our review of the season eight premiere, and see where the show fits into our latest TV power rankings here.