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    Return of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” Scores 17 Million+ Viewers 

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments2020 Views
    In this image released by AMC, Jeffrey Dean Morgan portrays Negan in a scene from the Season 7 premiere of "The Walking Dead." The gory episode of the popular AMC drama was seen by just over 17 million viewers on Sunday night, the Nielsen company said. (Gene Page/AMC via AP)

    By David Bauder, Television Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    It’s hard to miss the message from the season premiere of “The Walking Dead”: blood pays off.

    The gory episode of the popular AMC drama was seen by just over 17 million viewers on Sunday night, the Nielsen company said. That left it short of the 2014 season premiere of 17.3 million for most-watched episode of the series ever, but AMC believes that when additional digital and delayed viewing is added in, this season’s opener will be the all-time champ.

    When last season’s opener drew 14.6 million people, there were whispers that “The Walking Dead” was fading in appeal. But a good, old-fashioned cliffhanger – who did Negan kill? – paid off handsomely in interest.

    Among the 18-to-49-year-old audience that advertisers love, “The Walking Dead” reached 10.7 million people. Prior to Sunday night, the season’s most-watched scripted show among that youthful demographic was the 6.5 million who saw the season premiere of “The Big Bang Theory.”

    Even for a zombie apocalypse program not known for its gentility, Sunday’s episode stood out for blood ‘n’ guts. Avert your eyes, those who haven’t seen it and don’t want their anticipation spoiled: Negan bludgeons Abraham and Glenn with a spiked baseball bat.

    Come to think of it, you might want to avert your eyes anyway.

    The episode “was one of the most graphically violent shows we’ve seen on television, comparable to the most violent of programs found on premium cable networks,” said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council.

    AMC’s postgame show, “Talking Dead,” had its biggest-ever audience among people wanting to dissect the opener.

    CBS scored another easy victory in prime time, averaging 9.9 million viewers for the week. Second place NBC, with 7.7 million viewers, won among the 18-to-49-year-old crowd. ABC averaged 5.4 million viewers, Fox had 3.1 million, Univision had 1.8 million, Telemundo had 1.6 million, the CW had 1.5 million and ION Television had 1.2 million.

    Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 3.21 million viewers in prime time. AMC had 2.172 million, CNN had 2.169 million, ESPN had 2.14 million and MSNBC had 1.78 million.

    The evening news competition had another virtual dead heat: ABC’s “World News Tonight” averaged 7.99 million viewers and the “NBC Nightly News” had 7.97 million. The “CBS Evening News” averaged 6.4 million.

    Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Oct. 17-23. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.

    1. NFL Football: Seattle at Arizona, NBC, 17.71 million.

    2. “The Walking Dead,” AMC, 17.03 million.

    3. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 15.99 million.

    4. “NCIS,” CBS, 14.77 million.

    5. NFL Football: Chicago at Green Bay, CBS, 14.202 million.

    6. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 14.196 million.

    7. “Bull,” CBS, 12.29 million.

    8. “Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC, 12.01 million.

    9. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 11.4 million.

    10. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 11.38 million.

    11. “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC, 10.55 million.

    12. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 10.54 million.

    13. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 10.03 million.

    14. Major League Baseball NLCS: Los Angeles at Chicago, Game 6, Fox Sports, 9.706 million.

    15. “This is Us,” NBC, 9.705 million.

    16. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 9.53 million.

    17. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 9.51 million.

    18. “Football Night in America,” NBC, 9.15 million.

    19. “Madam Secretary,” CBS, 9.04 million.

    20. “Presidential Debate Analysis,” Fox News Channel, 8.66 million.

    Tags:AMCNielsenThe Walking Dead



    Is “Glicked” The New “Barbenheimer”? “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” Hit Theater Screens

    Thursday, November 21, 2024

    "Barbenheimer" was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn't stopped people from trying to make "Glicked" — or even "Babyratu" — happen.

    The counterprogramming of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" in July 2023 hit a nerve culturally and had the receipts to back it up. Unlike so many things that begin as memes, it transcended its online beginnings. Instead of an either-or, the two movies ultimately complemented and boosted one another at the box office.

    And ever since, moviegoers, marketers and meme makers have been trying to recreate that moment, searching the movie release schedule for odd mashups and sending candidates off into the social media void. Most attempts have fizzled (sorry, "Saw Patrol" ).

    This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation "Wicked" opens Friday against the chest-thumping sword-and-sandals epic "Gladiator II." Two big studio releases (Universal and Paramount), with one-name titles, opposite tones and aesthetics and big blockbuster energy — it was already halfway there before the name game began: "Wickiator," "Wadiator," "Gladwick" and even the eyebrow raising "Gladicked" have all been suggested.

    "'Glicked' rolls off the tongue a little bit more," actor Fred Hechinger said at the New York screening of "Gladiator II" this week. "I think we should all band around 'Glicked.' It gets too confusing if you have four or five different names for it."

    As with "Barbenheimer," as reductive as it might seem, "Glicked" also has the male/female divide that make the fan art extra silly. One is pink and bright and awash in sparkles, tulle, Broadway bangers and brand tie-ins; The other is all sweat and sand, blood and bulging... Read More

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