The Walking Dead Ratings Get A Boost After Whisperers-Heavy Episode

It’s no secret that The Walking Dead is not the TV blockbuster it once was.

Gone are the days when AMC’s undead flagship used to draw in 17 million viewers, but that’s not to say that the show is in danger of being canned – far from it, in fact, as the Powers That Be have already committed to season 10. As a matter of fact, this past Sunday’s “Guardians” posted a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49 and a total viewership of 4.71 million.

That’s a slight uptick from the previous week, when The Walking Dead season 9 slumped to 4.39 million after a relatively strong premiere.  It’s not enough to set the world alight, but it’s further proof that the introduction of The Whisperers has helped get The Walking Dead back on course – both in the ratings and story department.

Here’s a week-by-week breakdown of season 9, courtesy of Bloody Disgusting:

Episode 9.1 – 6.08 million
Episode 9.2 – 4.95 million
Episode 9.3 – 5.04 million
Episode 9.4 – 5.10 million
Episode 9.5 *Rick’s Final Episode* – 5.41 million
Episode 9.6 – 5.40 million
Episode 9.7 – 4.79 million
Episode 9.8 *Mid-Season Finale* – 5.09 million
Episode 9.9 *Mid-Season Premiere* – 5.16 million
Episode 9.10 – 4.54 million
Episode 9.11 – 4.39 million
Episode 9.12 – 4.71 million

There are only four episodes that remain in The Walking Dead season 9 – including this Sunday’s installment, “Chokepoint” – so we imagine those numbers will continue to climb as we approach the nail-biting finale. Can the show top 6 million once again? Without Andrew Lincoln on board as Rick Grimes, we doubt it, but so long as the writing team continue to develop the Whisperers, we’ll be there every step of the way.

The Walking Dead officially returns with “Chokepoint” this Sunday, March 10th, when series stalwart Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) will be squaring off against his new nemesis – the Whisperer Beta.