The fall finale of AMC's zombie smash The Walking Dead lured 10.5 million viewers Sunday. That's 58% higher than last year's fall closer, and approaches the record ratings set by this season's opener on Oct. 14. Fans can look for eight more new episodes to close out the season starting Feb. 10, resolving a cliffhanger than put two (more) lives in jeopardy.
The show's audience is huge by cable standards - about four times larger than AMC's Mad Men - and eclipses many shows on the bigger networks. Dead is also the top-rated series on any network this fall among adults ages 18 to 49, the target audience for many advertisers.
In all, the eight-episode season drew an average of 10.1 million viewers on Sundays at 9 ET/PT. Adding replays later Sunday night, the finale episode totaled 15.2 million, and delayed DVR viewing will add still more, an average of 3.4 million this season.
