Fear the Walking Dead sets cable ratings record

The first season of Fear the Walking Dead delivered an average 11.2 million viewers across its six episode run, making it the most-watched first season of any show ever on US cable.

The Walking Dead companion series show ended its run on AMC last Sunday (October 11). Of the average 11.2 million viewers, 7.3 million (live +3) were in the 18-to-49 demo and 7.2 million in the 25-to-54s.

The Nielsen numbers make it the top cable series launch ever and the third best launch ever across all free and pay TV.

Cable channel AMC, which shows Fear the Walking Dead, the original The Walking Dead and new shortform series Flight 462 (below), said that Fear generated strong digital activity, with 8.4 million VOD transactions and 3.2 million streams on TV everywhere services.

Every episode of The Walking Dead is followed by talkshow The Talking Dead. AMC said that the series will also run straight after season two episodes of Fear the Walking Dead.

Speaking to TBI about Fear the Walking Dead, showrunner Dave Erickson said that having the 15-episode second season order in the bag has helped the writing and production team.

“One of the challenges of season one is trying to capture the crash of a major city, what the first days of an apocalypse might look like with the confusion and the violence,” Erickson said. “We had to compress elements, but it has worked really well. Having 15 episodes for season will allow us to follow things a bit more.”

Talking about the connection with the original series, Erickson said: “The original universe is the foundation, but you can come to this having never seen The Walking Dead.”

“The rules remain the same, and there are connections with elements of the comics, but even those who make connections and recognise the look of full survival mode will be immersed in our own characters and dynamics.”

Season six of The Walking Dead debuted last night on AMC, with ratings expected in some time today. Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462 debuted during an ad break, and will continue to do so throughout the new season.