Many fans were asking if Fear The Walking Dead would get its own version of the television series Talking Dead . AMC has delivered, recently announcing every episode of season 2 of Fear The Walking Dead will be followed by a Talking Dead episode.
Many people tuned into the pilot episode of Fear The Walking Dead , enough, in fact, to break cable records . However, episode by episode, many Walking Dead fans tuned out due to the slow pace of the companion series. Even with this steady drop off, by the season 1 finale, Fear The Walking Dead still managed to pull in 10.1 million viewers in Live + 3 viewers (Live + 3 equals views over the three days following the premiere date). This was up 47 percent from live/same day viewers, making it an increase of 3.2 million viewers.
It seems while viewership ratings dropped weekly on the live presentation, by the time Live + 3 kicked in, Fear The Walking Dead was consistently pulling in, on average, 11.2 million viewers per episode. That could be broken down, on average, to 7.3 million adults from the 18-49 age group and 7.2 million adults from the 25-54 age group per episode, making Fear The Walking Dead the number one “highest-rated initial season of any series in cable history across total viewers and all key demos in live+3 ratings, which include three days of time shifted viewing,” according to the press release issued by AMC recently. For a reference point, The Walking Dead was placed at number 2 and Better Call Saul at number 3, placing AMC in an enviable position among other television networks when it comes to new television series. Fear The Walking Dead was also ranked highest among first-time releases across all television platforms, not just cable.
According to the press release issued by AMC, here are all the details on Fear The Walking Dead getting its own version of Talking Dead :
“ Talking Dead , the live aftershow hosted by Chris Hardwick, will air after each of the 15 new episodes of Fear the Walking Dead season two in 2016. Hardwick will spend time each week with fans, actors, producers and TV enthusiasts, recapping that evening’s Fear episode.”
The Talking Dead special that aired after Fear’s October 4 season 1 finale had 2.9 million viewers. Of this number, 1.8 million adults in the 18-49 age group and 2 million adults in the 25-54 age group tuned in. These statistics come from Live + 3 ratings.
Charlie Collier, the president of AMC, SundanceTV, and AMC Studios was excited about the results. “When we set out to launch a companion series to the number one show on television, there were truly many things to fear, beyond Fear itself. To see this show stand alone, break through and set records as a unique piece of storytelling is very gratifying and a tribute to great creative talent,” he said in the press release.
“We’re grateful to Robert Kirkman, Dave Erickson, the terrific executive producers, the cast and crew for a first season that was successful on so many levels. Here’s to season two and the weekly addition of Talking Dead led by the incomparable Chris Hardwick. Of course, biggest thanks to the fans who have joined us on the ‘Fear’ journey – first by land and, next, if Abigail is to be believed, by sea,” he added. Fans seem, overall, excited about the prospect of season 2 of Fear The Walking Dead taking place at sea.
As well as the news of Fear The Walking Dead getting its own version of Talking Dead , there was the recent announcement of season 1 of Fear The Walking Dead coming out on Blu-ray and DVD just in time for Christmas. You can find out more information about this via this previous Inquisitr article .
Fear The Walking Dead returns to AMC with season 2 in 2016.
What did you think of season 1 of AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead ? Let us know by commenting below!
[Image credits: AMC]