The latest spinoff in The Walking Dead universe, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, made a significant impact with the return of two iconic characters, Andrew Lincoln's Rick and Danai Gurira's Michonne. The premiere episode garnered a total of 3 million viewers over three days, including replays and simulcasts, marking the best series debut performance on AMC in nearly six years.
AMC reported that The Ones Who Live premiere became the most-watched episode on its AMC+ streaming platform. The debut episode also attracted more AMC+ viewers in just two days than any other season premiere had in a full week, leading to a surge in direct-to-consumer signups on the day of the premiere.
Showrunner and Walking Dead franchise creative head, Scott M. Gimple, expressed gratitude for the incredible reunion of TWD giants, Rick and Michonne, and praised the outstanding work of Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln both in front of and behind the camera. The success of the premiere was attributed to the dedication of the cast and crew and the unwavering support of the audience.
The Ones Who Live garnered 896,000 same-day viewers on AMC, surpassing the viewership of the two most recent Walking Dead spinoffs, Dead City and Daryl Dixon. Simulcasts on AMC's sister channels WE and BBC America contributed an additional 207,000 viewers to the total audience.
More than 60% of the premiere's three-day viewership came from viewers who tuned in after the initial airing, as reported by Nielsen. The collaborative efforts of Gimple, Lincoln, Gurira, and executive producers Denise Huth, Brian Bockrath, and Greg Nicotero were instrumental in the success of The Ones Who Live.
