Two episodes into its first season, AMC’s zombie-show The Walking Dead has already been greenlit for season two.
Now, we could have said “I told you so,” but we’ll let the numbers speak for themselves. 4.7 million people tuned into “Guts” this Sunday, a slight decrease from the 5.3 million who watched the premiere. It’s still ahead of AMC’s other hit Mad Men, which only averaged 3 million viewers an episode this last season.
(More on TIME.com: Walking Dead Watch: Live Together, Undie Alone)
“The Dead has spread!” AMC President Charlie Collier said in an emailed statement. “No other cable series has ever attracted as many Adults 18-49 as The Walking Dead. This reaffirms viewers’ hunger for premium television on basic cable. We are so proud to be bringing back The Walking Dead again, across the globe.”
(More on TIME.com: Video: Kirkman Says The Walking Dead is Like Mad Men, Except With Zombies)
We love this show because it’s not just about the undead, but about human nature in light of tragedy. It makes for moving drama, which can appeal to everyone. “What’s so wonderful about The Walking Dead is that we’re able to explore human nature at its most depraved as well as its most humanitarian in each episode,” executive producer Gale Anne Hurd said in the production notes for the show. “We strip each character down to their most basic survival instincts – or lack thereof. It’s actually the zombies who are the most predictable: you know what zombies are after. What you can’t anticipate is how one surviving human is going to interact with another. And that’s what keeps the series fresh and compelling.”
Sadly, since the first season is only six episodes long, we’re almost half way through the first series. Knowing the saga isn’t going to end in a few weeks, though, is something we can all look forward to. Let’s just hope for next season to be a lot longer.
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