In the run-up to the hit zombie drama’s premiere last month, The Walking Dead season 8 was being championed as a true return to form for the series, after the past couple of years have seen ratings – and positive responses from fans – dwindling. Unfortunately, this season hasn’t exactly proven to be the shot in the arm that we were expecting. As well as viewers remaining split on the show’s relative merits at the moment, the first few episodes consistently hit disappointing ratings. The season premiere, for example, was the least-watched opener since season 3.
On the back of episode four, however, titled “Some Guy,” which aired this past Sunday, we finally have some good news on the ratings front. That’s because it’s being reported that 8.69 million viewers tuned in for the outing, giving the episode a 3.9 rating among the key demographic of adults aged 18-49. In both cases, this is a slight step up from last week’s 8.52 million viewers and 3.8 rating.
Sure, it’s not the most impressive ratings hike ever, but it is a promising shift in the series’ fortunes. If “Some Guy” proves to be good enough to hold over these viewers until Sunday, then maybe, just maybe, the figures will continue to steadily climb up over the course of the next few episodes, until The Walking Dead takes a midseason break (complete with a mega-sized midseason finale).
Even if things drop again, though, fans shouldn’t be too worried. The Walking Dead is still one of the biggest shows currently on the airwaves and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It’s also worth pointing out that Talking Dead, TWD’s aftershow, was the highest-rated cable series on Sunday night. It stacked up a cool 3.1 million viewers, with a 1.3 demographic rating.
As always, you can show your solidarity with the zombie drama by tuning in for The Walking Dead when it returns this coming Sunday on AMC.