While the majority of fans were tense and nervous about how the season finale of The Walking Dead would go down, a smaller but still as fanatical side of the fanbase was wondering how it would all go down – in the ratings. The show has been steadily increasing its ratings season after season and like a lot of cable shows, you wonder when it will top out and if this is that season. With the buzz out there, the way people get into it and even the on-air personalities such as radio DJs and the like having very polar opinions on how the show is playing out, the curiosity factor is most definitely there.
With the finale, the show did very strong numbers with 15.7 million viewers, which is up from the 12.4 record that it had at the end of season three this time last year. According to Deadine, the show had 10.2 million viewers in adults 18-49, a 25% rise from the 8.1 million in the demo who watched the Season 3 finale and a demo finale high.
The fifth season is set to return in the fall with an expected October premiere where the show will once again be split across two blocks of eight episodes, allowing for 8 weeks of continuous episodes, a break, and then the final eight before the summer break.