'The Walking Dead': Great Episodes Help Ratings Rise Again

The Walking Dead is on a roll with high-quality episodes which has helped provide two consecutive ratings increases. The uptick comes on the heels of hitting a series low with ratings, bottoming out with numbers below the first season from 2010's statistics. However, new showrunner Angela Kang seems to be just what the AMC zombie drama needed for a revitalized batch of episodes in Season Nine.

Episode 9x11 had hit a series low with 4.39 million viewers. However, the episode was praised as one of the season's best as newcomer villain Alpha (Samantha Morton) carried out a tense exchange at the Hilltop. Word of mouth may have spread in regards to high-quality episodes as the two weeks which have followed Episode 9x11 have seen increases in ratings.

Episode 9x12 grew the numbers up to 4.71 million viewers and Sunday's Episode 9x13 (titled Chokepoint) hauled in an audience of 4.83 million viewers. It was enough to finish atop the charts on Sunday night with a 1.8 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, ahead of Real Housewives of Atlanta, which was the only other title ahead of Talking Dead and its 0.7 rating with 2.03 million viewers.

The Walking Dead Season Nine has rightfully been praised by critics and fans as a strong bounce back for the AMC zombie series which appeared to hit a slump in Season Seven and Season Eight. Following Negan's violent introduction in the Season Seven premiere, fatigue set in for some viewers as the show's villain bullied and eliminated the beloved survivors over the course of 32 episodes. The All Out War story which spanned 12 issues in the comics become a two-year saga on the TV series under Scott Gimple's reign. The most recent episodes, only five of which featured the show's original lead character Rick Grimes, have maintained an impressive pace with intriguing character interactions and dialogue leading the way.

The Walking Dead is on a roll right 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.

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