'Talking Dead' And 'Walking Dead' Ratings Rise With 'Fear The Walking Dead' Crossover News

An announcement as big as which character will cross over between the two Walking Dead shows was enough to get fans watching Talking Dead and The Walking Dead on Sunday night.

Along with a rise in ratings for The Walking Dead itself, Talking Dead saw a growth in viewership clocked at 23% as Kevin Smith and Melissa McBride joined host Chris Hardwick on the recap show. 21% of those new viewers were in the key 18-49 demographic. 3.2 million viewers tuned in for the recap and to learn the identity of which character would jump from show to show.

The Talking Dead ratings were the third best of recap shows following Season 8 episodes of The Walking Dead. The top-rated show belongs to the two-hour Episode 100 celebration which followed the Season 8 premiere, featuring the show's entire cast.

As it turns out, the character who is crossing over is Lennie James' Morgan Jones. Morgan was not featured in Sunday's episode of The Walking Dead which earned a 3.6 rating with 8.3 million viewers. The week-to-week numbers increase enough for some fans and executives to brush some sweat but will likely see a significant bump when the Live+3 numbers come in.

Here are the numbers for The Walking Dead episodes through Season 8, so far:

• Episode 8x01: 11.44 million (5.0)
• Episode 8x02: 8.92 million (4.0)
• Episode 8x03: 8.52 million (3.8)
• Episode 8x04: 8.69 million (3.9)
• Episode 8x05: 7.85 million (3.4)
• Episode 8x06: 8.3 million (3.6)

Sunday's Episode 8x06 of The Walking Dead is titled, "The King, The Widow, and Rick." The officially synopsis for The King, The Widow, and Rick reads, "With things looking up for Rick and our group, an argument breaks out at the Hilltop. The consequences of the decision are life versus death." Several characters returned in the episode after absences since the Season 8 premiere, including Michonne, Rosita, and Carl.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.

(Ratings via Deadline)