Walking Dead Ratings Down, Still King of Cable

The Walking Dead came back last weekend from its mid-season break and re-established itself as the most-watched scripted series on cable TV and one of the highest rated on TV in general. The ratings for the series' second-half premiere, though, were down considerably from those of last year's second-half debut, and talk about the possible peak of the Dead's popularity continues.

Last Sunday's episode drew 13.7 million total viewers and earned a 6.8 rating in the 18-49 age demographic. That was easily enough to make the episode the top program on cable for the week. In fact, the week's second-place program was the Walking Dead after-show discussion, The Talking Dead, which earned a 3.1 rating. No other show earned more than 3.0.

There's no doubt that The Walking Dead is still a very popular series, but when it's measured by its own very high standards, worries start to creep in. Ratings for last week's episode were down 12 percent from last year's second-half premiere overall and down 15 percent in the all-important 18-49 group, a significant drop any way you look at it.

This continues a trend of season 6 episodes failing to match the ratings of comparable earlier episodes, and it seems clear that the days of reliably rising ratings for the series are over. The Walking Dead might not be invincible after all.