"The Walking Dead" returns to AMC for a third season.

"The Walking Dead" returns to AMC for a third season. Credit: AP

"The Walking Dead" - which came to life last night with an especially gory, over-the-top, zombie splatterfest that eschewed talking in favor of killing already-dead-zombies - has set a record: 10.9 million viewers. That ranks as the most viewed episode of any drama in cable history, or as AMC put it:  "The season 3 premiere now reigns as the biggest telecast for any drama series in basic cable history among all viewers." This figure does not include, obviously, additional viewing from DVR sources. Those could conceivably add a couple million more viewers by the end of the week.  

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