‘The Walking Dead’ Season 10 Premiere Ratings Are Lower Than Season 1 Premiere

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Episode 1 (titled “Lines We Cross”) of AMC’s The Walking Dead Season 10. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed this episode and wish to avoid spoilers.

The Season 10 premiere of AMC’s The Walking Dead opened with the communities training at Oceanside and closed with a staredown between the Whisperers leader, Alpha (Samantha Morton) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride). However, the potential of upcoming clashes between these groups may not be enough to draw viewers back to the series.

While critical reviews of the Season 10 premiere of AMC’s The Walking Dead appear to be solid, fans were not convinced, with only 4 million viewers tuning in to watch Episode 1, according to TV Web. This gave the episode a “1.4 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic.” By comparison, the Season 1 premiere of the zombie apocalypse series drew in 5.35 million viewers. This was considered an excellent result on a series premiere, especially considering it is in the horror genre.

After the Season 1 premiere of The Walking Dead, ratings steadily climbed. Season 2 premiered with more than 7.26 million viewers and finished the season with nearly 9 million viewers. Things exploded after that. The Season 3 premiere saw 10.87 million people tune in, then 16.11 million for Season 4, and 17.29 million for Season 5. This was the high point of the series and more recent numbers have not matched that since.

While the show is in decline, its viewership was still considered good.

Season 6 of The Walking Dead saw a viewership number of 14.63 million. Then, as comic book favorite Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) was introduced in Season 7, about 17.03 million people watched the Season 7 finale cliffhanger episode. This was the second-highest viewership number after the Season 5 premiere.

Season 8 saw a steady decline with 11.04 million viewers tuning in for the premiere. Then, things dropped quite dramatically, with 6.08 people deciding to watch the Season 9 premiere. The downward slide has then continued with the Season 10 premiere of The Walking Dead, which saw only two-thirds of the audience watching the Season 9 premiere returning for Season 10.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, while ratings may be low, AMC still has supreme confidence in their product, having already renewed The Walking Dead for an eleventh season.

As for how Season 10 will fare? It is still very early and 4 million viewers is still a considerable audience for a cable series — perhaps, there isn’t any need to worry just yet. This is especially true, considering AMC also has a third Walking Dead series in development, plus a trio of movies that will delve in Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) story after he was rescued from certain death by Anne’s (Pollyanna McIntosh) group in Season 9.

Season 10 of The Walking Dead returns to AMC on Sunday, October 13, with Episode 2, titled “We Are the End of the World.”