'The Walking Dead' Ratings Kill Everything Else on TV

Another season premiere, another record shattered by 'The Walking Dead'. 16.1 Million people tuned into the season 4 premiere of 'The Walking Dead' on AMC, becoming the highest rated show of the season. The previous record for the series was 12.4 Million. The Cable show is getting live ratings that the Broadcast networks could only dream of right now. It also seems like the walkers took a chunk out of the ratings for all the broadcast network shows, which were all down across the board in competition. 'The Walking Dead' is an event now, people want to watch it live so they can talk about it afterwards rather than DVR it and possibly get spoiled.

Another big milestone is that the show received 10.4 Million viewers in the 18-49 demographic, which makes it the most watched program of the season in that advertising coveted group, surpassing every NFL game. Before last night, all the highest rated programs among 18-49 year olds were all NFL games. The pigskin is no match for flesh eating zombies.

The new season is off to a solid start as well with a good first episode. Some clear storylines forming with Rick (Andrew Grimes) now taking on a role as farmer & having a new hatred of violence. Michonne (Danai Gurira) is leaving the prison for extended periods in search of the Governor (David Morrissey) to get her revenge on him for the death of Andrea (Laurie Holden). Glenn (Steven Yeun) & Maggie (Lauren Cohan) have a wedding to look forward to...and we have to wonder if it will be as insane as the Red Wedding on 'Game of Thrones'.

Carol (Melissa McBride) is teaching story-time to the children...with a fun twist of knife lessons to defend against walkers. Story-time during the zombie apocalypse is badass. Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) & Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman) have acclimated well and are important members of the prison. Daryl (Norman Reedus) is still the Daryl we love. The survivors finally found a Big Lots! superstore after 4 years...and just their luck the roof caves in with zombies raining down. Dear superstores: please build stronger roofs.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Finale

Another season of The Walking Dead is in the books. Season 3 went out with a bang, though it was not quite as good as the season 2 finale which gave us a Michonne (Danai Gurira) tease when she rescued Andrea (Laurie Holden) in the forest and the beginning of the "Ricktatorship".

A week after the emotional death of Merle (Michael Rooker), we have another sad goodbye of an original character with the death of Andrea. It was played out well and had a very powerful build. Even though I don't like her death, I understand her story came full circle, and ever since the death of her sister in season 1 she hated seeing others meet a similar fate. She tried to save everyone at the prison & Woodbury, including The Governor (David Morrissey), but it didn't work out. Seeing Milton (Dallas Roberts) stand up to The Governor before being stabbed and left locked with Andrea to turn also brought his story to a close. 

It was pretty well done, aside from making Andrea take FOREVER to pick the pliers up with her toes. It should have taken a few seconds, maybe one minute. The main reason I hated seeing Andrea die is because it feels like too many of the original cast has been killed off. We're down to Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Carol (Melissa McBride), Daryl (Norman Reedus), Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Carl (Chandler Riggs). Of course it keeps you on your toes, but I hope it doesn't come to a point where its overkill. After watching Merle and Andrea die in back to back weeks, we've now lost well over half of the original cast members. Dale, Andrea, Shane, Sophia, Merle, Lori, & T-Dog have all died since the middle of Season 2. Though I'm sure we will see Andrea some more through Michonne flashbacks. 

We saw Carl basically turning into Shane II. That will clearly become a storyline, as Rick will attempt to handle Carl becoming affected by the awful world around them. The Governor escaped, which leaves him at large and sure to pop up again. I guess we'll find out this summer when the show begins filming again if he'll be back in Season 4, or sometime after. Talking Dead also got prank called by some creep who breathed heavy then said something about the end coming and the graves being full, which was odd yet funny.

The 4th season of The Walking Dead on AMC begins in October. To help hold us over, Mad Men returns next week!

The Walking Dead: Andrea Chooses a Side

The Walking Dead ramped up the intensity in the episode titled "Prey", with a #PreyForAndrea hashtag being hyped up on The Walking Dead twitter. We found out why in a big way.

The episode was mainly about Andrea (Laurie Holden) and The Governor (David Morrissey). Andrea, by the way, returned to the Season Two badass Andrea finally. She also finally chose a side, opting to return to the prison once she'd seen what The Governor was planning to do with Michonne (Danai Gurira) in his dungeon. Milton (Dallas Roberts) shows it to her, and has seemingly lost his trust of The Governor as well. Its assumed he burned the walkers they were planning to unleash on the prison.

Back to the Andrea/Governor scene though, which filled most of the episode. The game of cat and mouse was absolutely perfect, and created what was perhaps the most intense, edge-of-your-seat episode of the entire series. The Governor turned into the full-on evil Governor they'd been building up to as he made his way through the warehouse searching for Andrea. He even pulled a little Freddy Kruger move, taunting her with whistles as he dragged hit metal shovel against the fences. I like that both characters were able to use the resources to get a leg up on the other. When Andrea found the stairway full of zombies, then entered and hid behind the open door as the zombies streamed out towards the Governor was one of the most exciting scenes they've had.

Then when she finally arrived at the prison, about to wave for Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) attention, he grabs her from behind and ends up taking her away. Just seconds from a happy reunion, she ends up in the worst possible spot. You have to wonder why she didn't just take his truck back at the warehouse, but then I guess that messes with the plot.

In a preview for next week on Talking Dead, we saw Merle (Michael Rooker) actually trying to convince Rick not to give up Michonne, knowing how The Governor operates and that it wouldn't make a difference. The two factions will have their war, and The Governor may use Andrea as bait to separate Michonne from the rest of the group. Or will Milton save Andrea and then die for doing so? With just two episodes left this season, the intensity is sure to continue at the high level of "Prey". Fear not though, as The Walking Dead ends, Mad Men returns a week later. Two very different shows, yet both fit well together because of the excellent storytelling and passionate cast & crew.

Watch The Walking Dead Season 3 Trailer!

The theatrical new trailer for The Walking Dead (watch below) has been released online following the debut at comic-con. Everyone is in action in the new trailer, and you get to see how The Governor (David Morrissey) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) will fit into the epic 3rd season. And epic is the perfect word, as this promises to be full of action with even better storytelling to go with it. There's also the first glimpse at the returning Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) as well as the prison and the survivor community, Woodbury.

Andrea (Laurie Holden) & Michonne are going to make one kick-ass team. We can see Michonne does not trust The Governor from the start. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) is in full on "take no bullshit" mode, and you know once the gang joins back up with Andrea and new pal Michonne, they may go to war with The Governor. And both groups will be attacked by countless walkers (zombies). The 3rd season will premiere Sunday October 14 at 9ET on AMC. The show may be more anticipated than any show on TV, including network TV, and should beat the cable record 9 million viewers it received for the season 2 finale.

The Walking Dead Season 2 Finale

Michonne in the comics

Is it Fall yet?

Season 2 of AMC's The Walking Dead ended with a bang, filled with tons of gore, zombies and fire. However, the best parts were the setups for Season 3. We see Rick (Andrew Lincoln) reach his final straw, putting his foot down and becoming a total badass who won't take any shit. Andrea (Laurie Holden), who got separated from the group, makes her way through the woods kicking zombie ass. But out of breath and pinned by a zombie, we see a mysterious sword-wielding & hooded woman save her by slicing said zombies head off. Not only that, but she does it with two arm-less zombies chained behind her. Looks like Andrea might have a new friend to kick some ass with, now that Shane (Jon Bernthal) is gone.

Danai Gurira

This mysterious woman is the heroine character Michonne from the comics. Fans have been waiting for her to appear, and she will play a huge role in Season 3. Michonne will be played by actress Danai Gurira, who was also in HBO's Treme. The character is like a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Milla Jovovich's Alice from the Resident Evil films, but with no superpowers of course. She becomes an ally to the group in the comics in order to take down "The Governor", who will also be in Season 3. We will find out this fall how its all handled on screen. The reason for the two chained zombies she walks with is because the smell keeps the others away, as we learned in Season 1. And she cut off their teeth in addition to their arms. Genius! Michonne is the ultimate survivor.

The end of the episode also pans out and shows a massive and highly protected prison near where our favorite survivors are stopped, which will also play a role.

Season 3 will premiere in the Fall and most likely will debut to more record breaking viewership. The Walking Dead has quickly become the most watched show on cable television. Take that Jersey Shore. Now we must wait until fall...summer is overrated anyway.