Fear The Walking Dead ratings down for episode 2, but still solid

Fear The Walking Dead had an impressive second episode to help keep viewers of the AMC program interested, but nearly 2 million folks who watched the pilot didn’t tune in for the second episode.

According to the great folks over at Entertainment Weekly, 8.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the second episode of Fear The Walking Dead (titled “So Close, Yet So Far”).  This number is down from the 10.1 million people who viewed the series premiere “Pilot”.

The reason for the drop off is simple.  Series premieres usually have a higher rating than the following episodes in a season.  Many people will tune in just to see what a show is like, whether or not they like the characters and if they find the plot interesting.  This first chance to see a show is like getting a spoonful sample of ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, no real harm in trying and you don’t have to buy in to the series.

In addition, many of the fans who decided not to tune in may have been discouraged with the pacing and lack of action in the series premiere.  Fans of AMC’s The Walking Dead have grown to know the high levels of insanity and massive amounts of undead that are around every corner.  Instead, viewers of Fear The Walking Dead are seeing the outbreak from the initial stages, which offers fewer opportunities for action while characters are developed and the number of walkers grow.

However, the fact that over 80% of the audience that tuned in for the pilot came back for a second episode of Fear The Walking Dead despite heavy competition from the MTV Video Music Awards and NFL’s Sunday Night Football preseason contest is a great sign for the series.  If the series can maintain around 8 million viewers for a couple more episodes, that number could begin growing.

To put things in perspective, only 5.35 million viewers tuned in for the series premiere of The Walking Dead titled “Days Gone Bye” back on October 31, 2010.  The second episode titled “Guts” saw that number drop to 4.71 million.  Which means it retained approximately 88% of its audience.  The show didn’t surpass the 5.35 million viewer mark again until the fifth episode titled “Wildfire”, which hit 5.56 million viewers.

Charlie Collier, the president of AMC, is very proud of what Fear The Walking Dead is accomplishing for the network.

"“Thank you and congratulations to Robert Kirkman, Dave Erickson, the brilliant executive producers and the entire cast and crew of Fear the Walking Dead,” Collier said.  “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.”"

You can catch the third episode of Fear The Walking Dead titled “The Dog” on September 13, 2015 on AMC.  Check your local listings for channel and availability.

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