'The Walking Dead' Drops to All-Time Ratings Low

While The Walking Dead might be the top-rated cable series each and every Sunday night, but the numbers won't stop falling. This Sunday night, the AMC zombie series recording the lowest ratings in its nine year history, even lower than those of the very first season.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Walking Dead saw just 4.54 million people tune in live to watch the latest episode, earning a 1.7 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic. Those numbers marked 12 and 15 percent drops from last week's midseason premiere, respectively.

Until this point, the previous series low in overall audience came in the second-ever episode, back in November 2010. That episode saw 4.71 million viewers when it aired. The previous ratings low came in 2018. These same day ratings are down 40 percent from Season 8, and more than 60 percent from Season 7.

Again, while these numbers are horrible compared to what The Walking Dead has done in the past, they're still excellent when put beside the rest of the cable world. Despite the slide in ratings over the past couple of years, The Walking Dead is still moving forward into the future without Rick Grimes. AMC has already renewed the show for a 10th season in the fall.

"I'm approaching it as I've got to make a great 10th season," said showrunner Angela Kang of the direction heading into the next installment. "I can't assume anything. It's a thing that writers certainly talk about a lot. You can fall into a trap just planning ahead and saving the great material for later. We always have to approach it as — we got to put the good material in now."

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter and watch ComicBook.com's After The Dead each Sunday night following new episodes.