The Walking Dead returned in its third season première to 10.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched basic cable drama telecast ever.
Sunday night's 9 p.m., episode of the hit show, which found a band of survivors cleaning out a prison full of walkers, grew more than 50 per cent over last season's première, and scored 7.3 million viewers in the key 18-49 demographic.
In addition, the season two première of the wrap-up show Talking Dead at 11 p.m. attracted 2.1 million viewers, growing 85 per cent over the season-one première.
Including the 10 p.m. and midnight encores for Walking Dead, it scored 15.2 million viewers for AMC.
