The Walking Dead's Ratings Still High Following Big Premiere

The second episode of The Walking Dead season 7 was a major departure from the season opener, providing a palpable lift in tone n comparison to the brutality of the season premiere. While the episode wasn't as intense as the previous one, it still managed to retain a great deal of its viewership.

Audiences were ready for the generally lighthearted "The Well" episode, which many predicted would receive a bigger drop off due to its competition. Sunday night played host to a duo of heavily watched sporting events, including the Chicago Cubs survival into game 6 of the Wolrd Series and a division nailbiter that went into overtime between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles (via Deadline).

It didn't seem to matter, though, as The Walking Dead still pulled in 12.5 million viewers on Sunday night, with 7.8 million of those in the key demo of adults 18 - 49 (6.2). Compared to the season premiere, which brought in 17 million viewers total with an 8.7 in the key demo. There was no way that the second episode could follow those numbers, especially given the fact that it didn't have a giant cliffhanger to draw people in. Still, it's quite impressive, though the World Series actually topped the ratings by 8% in the demo, bringing in a 6.7.

Next up is the "The Cell", which you can read the description for below.

"A new group of survivors seem to have it all in their impressive community, however, there is a price."

The Cell episode of The Walking Dead airs this Sunday on AMC.