AMC's Breaking Bad
hit a series high for the first of its final eight episodes on Sunday night, drawing
5.9 million total viewers at 9 p.m., more than double the haul for the show's
season five premiere last summer.
The episode also drew 3.3 million adults 25-54 and 3.6
million adults 18-49, up 81% and 87% from its last premiere, respectively. The
18-49 delivery makes it second only to AMC's The Walking Dead in the key demo across all of cable.
The record viewership helped launch new drama Low Winter Sun to 2.5 million total
viewers at 10 p.m. as well as 1.4 million adults 18-49 and 1.3 million adults
25-54. That was down considerably from the 4.4 million viewers who watched the
premiere of AMC's last drama launch Hell
on Wheels, which premiered out of The
Walking Dead, and just below the 2.7 million viewers who watched The Killing premiere in April 2011.
The Breaking Bad
after-show Talking Bad averaged 1.2
million viewers, 679,000 adults 18-49 and 672,000 adults 25-54 at 11 p.m.
On Saturday, the two-hour third season premiere of Hell on Wheels drew 2.5 million total
viewers, up 2% from its season two debut on a new night.
