“The Walking Dead” went out with a bang for AMC+ on Nov. 20, scoring the young streamer its highest single day of viewership ever.
The 90-minute series finale episode, which aired in the show’s usual 9p.m. Sunday slot on AMC’s linear channel and was available for streaming at that time on AMC+, is also the most-watched episode on the platform since it launched in October 2020.
On the linear side, the “Walking Dead” finale, titled “Rest in Peace,” also jumped in viewership from the long-running zombie drama’s previous weeks of airing its 11th season. While down considerably from itsratingsheyday, “The Walking Dead” went out as the No. 2 cable drama in both the adults 18-49 and 25-54 age demographics for the 13th consecutive year.
Per Nielsen’s Live + 3 Day data, the series finale averaged 3.1 million total viewers, up 36% from the penultimate episode. Additionally, the episode drew 1.5 million viewers in adults 25-54 (+53%) and 1.2 million adults among the 18-49 crowd (+75%).
The 90-minute episode of aftershow “Talking Dead” averaged 1.3 million viewers in Nielsen live+3 ratings, up 138% from the previous episode and marking the highest-rated episode of the post show since Season 10.
“What a great conclusion to the ‘zombie show’ that kicked off on Halloween night in 2010 and went on to become the most successful series in the history of cable television,” Dan McDermott, AMC’s president of entertainment and AMC Studios, said. “To celebrate this extraordinary series for more than three hours at a live event with thousands of the fans who have driven this series since the beginning was a perfect way to end the flagship series while, at the same time, sharing our collective excitement for the stories and worlds yet to be explored in this growing and vibrant franchise.”
While “The Walking Dead” is over, the “Walking Dead” universe is alive and well at AMC, with upcoming either season of “Fear the Walking Dead,” as well as new spinoff shows “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” starring Lauren Cohan as Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon,” starring Norman Reedus, and a third series starring “Walking Dead” alums Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln as Michonne and Rick.
