When it was revealed that AMC were plotting a spinoff of The Walking Dead, the reaction from fans of the hit adaptation of Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard’s comic book was understandably one of scepticism. There was talk of it being a “companion” series, and then a prequel, but no one could quite figure out what the point of it was.
Well, it’s hard to blame the cable network for wanting to expand on a show which consistently breaks ratings records for them, and season one of Fear The Walking Dead ended up being a million times better than expected.
Unsurprisingly, it also did extremely well in terms of ratings, hence why Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios, announced today that the ratings for the show are the highest ever for a first season in cable history (Fear The Walking Dead averaged 11.2 million viewers during its six episode run).
Talking about the success of the series today, Collier said:
“When we set out to launch a companion series to the #1 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. 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.”
However, the biggest surprise came with the news that Talking Dead – a hit panel series hosted by Chris Hardwick which currently airs after every episode of The Walking Dead – will now follow each instalment of the fifteen episode long second season, which is set to air next year.
“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.”
This is obviously great news for Fear The Walking Dead, and a strong sign that the network is confident in it remaining a hit for them moving forward. While a third spinoff could be a little much, if ratings like these continue, we may not be too far away from that happening somewhere down the line.