'Walking Dead' Summons Record Ratings for Premiere

The AMC drama The Walking Dead launched its fourth season on Sunday night with a premiere that evoked record-breaking ratings once again for the series.

The post-apocalyptic drama averaged 16.1 million viewers during its initial broadcast at 9 p.m. on Sunday, a record for the series and for any AMC drama.

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The zombie-infested series has been one of the top scripted dramas on TV for the past year and averaged 10.9 viewers for last season's premiere. Walking Dead's Season 3 finale averaged 12.4 million viewers in March.

The series, which has maintained high ratings for a cable drama series from its onset, began turning heads in 2011, after its Season 2 premiere averaged 4.8 million in the 18-49 age demographic and 4.2 million in the 25-54 demo, both of which were records at the time.

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Sunday night's Season 4 premiere effortlessly doubled those numbers. The show averaged 10.4 million viewers in the 18-49 range and 8.8 million viewers aged 25-54.

The Walking Dead continues Season 4 Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.