TV Article 'Fear the Walking Dead' premiere ratings make cable history By James Hibberd James Hibberd James Hibberd is the former editor at large at Entertainment Weekly. He left EW in 2021. EW's editorial guidelines Published on August 24, 2015 12:00PM EDT Photo: Justin Lubin/AMC AMC has absolutely nothing to fear from Sunday night’s ratings. The network’s The Walking Dead companion series got off to a huge start. The 90-minute series premiere of Fear the Walking Dead delivered 10.1 million viewers and an incredible 6.3 rating among adults 18-49. That makes Fear the biggest series premiere in cable TV history in both total viewers and key demos. “Thank you and congratulations to Robert Kirkman, Dave Erickson, the brilliant executive producers and the entire cast and crew of Fear the Walking Dead,” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC. “It is increasingly difficult to evaluate a show’s success on night one. However, we are releasing these live/same day ratings because Fear the Walking Dead delivered record-breaking numbers that are all the more special in this era of time-shifted viewing and audience fragmentation. To have a companion series to the #1 show on television driving communal, urgent viewing, social activity and pop cultural relevance of this magnitude is truly differentiating. Of course none of it is possible without the fans, whose passion leads to these remarkable results.” The prequel series tells the story of a Los Angeles family at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. AMC’s aftershow Talking Dead season 6 preview special delivered 4.2 million viewers. Back in 2010, the flagship Walking Dead series debuted to 5.4 million viewers—which was considered quite high at the time. The zombie drama’s ratings have grown every year since, with the most recent fifth season premiering to a record 17.3 million viewers last fall. Fear getting such a strong start bodes well for the show’s future, though some critics found the first episode a tad sluggish. For more, check out EW’s recap of Fear the Walking Dead and our interview with showrunner Dave Erickson breaking down the premiere. And is “Where’s Nick?” the new “Where’s Carl?” •Fear the Walking Dead star Kim Dickens on if she’s responsible for [SPOILER’s] death •Fear the Walking Dead premiere: Frank Dillane on playing vulnerable junkie Nick •http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/23/fear-the-walking-dead-showrunner-dave-erickson WANT MORE EW? Subscribe now to keep up with the latest in movies, television and music.