By Don Kaye, Source: Blastr.com
Just two record-breaking episodes into its second season, The Walking Dead has been renewed for a third year!
AMC officially announced today that The Walking Dead has been picked up for season three after the first two episodes of the new season earned the highest ratings ever for a basic cable channel, with the season premiere’s 7.3 million viewers smashing the record set by the series The Dead Zone a decade ago.
The show has also attracted record numbers of viewers in the 18-to-49 demographic, which anyone in the industry will tell you is the sweet spot for advertisers.
All this comes following a summer of controversy, during which show co-creator and executive producer Frank Darabont was fired as rumors spread that AMC was cutting the show’s budget despite the first season’s success.
The Walking Dead’s success is not limited to the U.S., by the way: The show premiered in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East this past weekend, where it also apparently broke ratings records.
In an official press release announcing the third season, AMC president Charlie Collier said:
“Today we are pleased to announce that the ‘dead’ shall live as we proudly renew ‘The Walking Dead’ for a third season on AMC and, globally, with our terrific partners at Fox International Channels. We are thankful for everyone’s contribution in front of and behind the camera as we continue to make ‘The Walking Dead’ a unique television experience. And, we are so proud as it continues to set viewership records around the world.”
So now we can all rest assured that as the second season of The Walking Dead unfolds (and those first two episodes have been awesome, by the way), there will be even more mayhem to come in season three!
