| The Walking Dead Premieres/Avgs/Fins | Other Cable Serial Season Premieres |
| 2.7/2.65/3.0 (Fall 2010) 3.8/3.41/3.5 (Fall 2011) 4.2/3.90/4.7 (Spring 2012) | 0.6 -> 0.7 -> 0.9 -> 1.1 -> 1.5 (Breaking Bad) ??? -> 0.8 -> 0.9 -> 0.9 -> 1.2 (Mad Men) 0.7 -> 2.0 -> 2.9 -> 3.0 -> 2.9 (True Blood) 1.3 -> 2.3 -> 2.1 -> 2.5 -> 2.8 (Sons of Anarchy) |
As I said in a True Blood War of 18-49 Update this summer, there are two kinds of "hot" cable serials these days: the True Blood type, which hit phenomenon status relatively early and has somehow stayed there even as the critics bail, and then all the others listed above, which have managed to continue growing deep into their runs. I'm a big fan of The Walking Dead, but there's got to be a point at which it just can't possibly keep becoming even more of a phenomenon. I say we're about there, but then I thought we were about there coming into last spring as well. I can't rule out the show going even farther beyond the 4.7 from the spring finale, because most of the premieres have gone well above the prior finale. But facing football and baseball may be a bit of a factor. I say the smart money is on this being the year the show levels off, True Blood-style. The smart money, however, has not been making much money on this show.
Over/Under: 4.6.
No entries accepted after 6:00am ET the morning after the date in the headline. If editing your pick, please leave a separate comment.
