Zombie nation turned out in force for the Season 5 finale of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” on Sunday, making the episode the highest-rated finale for the drama.
The 90-minute 9 p.m. show drew 15.8 million total viewers, with 10.4 million in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic.
The “Walking Dead” aftershow “Talking Dead,” meanwhile, marked its own milestone on Sunday, hitting a series ratings high with 7.5 million total viewers and 4.9 million in the demo.
“It’s tough enough in today’s competitive environment to command attention, and even harder to hold onto it. So, for ‘The Walking Dead’ to maintain this level of urgent viewership in its fifth season — and to end with the highest-rated finale in series history — is really something rare and remarkable,” AMC president Charlie Collier said of Sunday’s finale ratings. “We’re thankful to Robert Kirkman, Scott Gimple, Chris Hardwick, our fantastic executive producers and the talented writers, cast and crews for delivering another season of unforgettable and engaging television. And to the many amazing people who drive the passion for this program across multiple platforms, I paraphrase (and welcome back) Morgan when I say, ‘All fans are precious.’”
Overall for the season, “The Walking Dead” grew 9 percent over Season 4 in the key demo, with all 16 episodes landing in the Top 20 entertainment telecasts in the demo.
Season 5 averaged 14.4 million total viewers, with 9.4 million viewers in the demo.
In its fifth season, “The Walking Dead” remained the top-rated television program among the 18-49 crowd, with an average 9.373 million demo viewers, compared to 7.036 million for NBC’s “The Voice”; 6.350 million for Fox’s “Empire”: 5.789 million for the CBS comedy “The Big Bang Theory” and 4.23 million for ABC’s “Modern Family.”