'Fear the Walking Dead' Ratings Hit Series Lows

Since Fear The Walking Dead came back from its mid-season hiatus earlier this month, the series has been the highest-rated cable series in terms of the 18-49 age demographic. That good news, however, has been tempered by some subsequent bad news: the series is also experiencing its lowest ratings to date, and there are definite signs that its audience might be shrinking.

The mid-season premiere of FTWD on Sunday, August 21, earned a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 group, which was well ahead of all other series on cable for the week. That rating was, however, a full three tenths of a point under the rating for the finale of the season's first half back in April, and it was also a record low for the series overall.

Perhaps more significantly, the series' ratings gains for delayed viewing were also down compared to the first half of the season. During the spring season, the series typically would nearly double its same-day ratings with its Live +3 numbers, but last week, the episode managed an increase of only about 50 percent.

The second episode of the fall season, which aired on August 28, was up against competition from the MTV Video Music Awards. FTWD's same-day ratings held steady - yet still at a series low - with those of the previous week's episode.

It's probably a little silly to speak gloomily of a series that remains one of the hottest shows on TV, but if the downward trend continues, the future might begin to look a bit bleak for this first Walking Dead spin off.