Walking Dead Ratings Watch: Mid-Season Finale a Mixed Bag

So far this season, The Walking Dead has been in the unfamiliar position of attracting some negative attention to go along with all the praise that's generally heaped on the series, and much of that negativity has surrounded the season's declining, although still very impressive, ratings. That mix of good and bad news continued this week when the ratings numbers for last Sunday's mid-season finale episode came in.

According to the raw numbers, the news was good. The episode attracted 14 million total viewers and earned a 7.0 rating in the 18-49 age deomgraphic. Those were the second-best ratings of the season, lagging behind only the season premiere episode, which earned a 7.4 rating in the 18-49 group.

Interpretation of the numbers is trickier. Some commentators see the bright side; the ratings for this mid-season finale were the second-best ever, behind only last year's mid-season episode, which itself set a ratings record for the series. The optimistic view is that, despite modest ratings declines, this mid-season episode came pretty close to matching the most-watched mid-season episode of all time.

The pessimists, however, see the continued decline. Yes, the mid-season finale ratings were up compared to last week's episode, but this season's episodes have already been failing to keep up with last season, ratings-wise. And even if this mid-season finale came close to last season's numbers, it still fell short by about 7%.

Have no doubt, commentators will be watching the second half of the season very closely for signs of the series' decline, but the important thing to note is that The Walking Dead is still the most-watched entertainment series on TV, and millions of viewers are still tuning in every week.