AMC's 'The Walking Dead' Nabs Record Audience for Season Finale

Actor Norman Reedus on the set of "The Walking Dead." (Photo by AMC)

LOS ANGELES - AMC's "The Walking Dead" nabbed record ratings for its 90-minute season finale Sunday, capping its highest-rated season to date.

The preliminary estimates by Nielsen show the horror-drama garnered an 8.2 rating in adults 18-49 and 15.8 million total viewers or up about 3 percent in both segments compared to last year's season finale. Altogether, it was up 17 percent from the previous week and 14 percent in viewers overall.

For the 2014-15 season, “The Walking Dead” averaged a 7.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 14.2 million total viewers for increases of about 10 percent over the 2013-14 season.

In the18-49, the show attracted more than six times the number of viewers as the top-rated show on broadcast networks at 9 p.m. Sunday -- ABC’s “Secrets and Lies” and Fox’s freshman “The Last Man on Earth."

The show's success spilled over into its follow up show, "The Talking Dead," which attracted its best ratings ever with 3.9 rating in 18-49 demo for a total of 7.5 million viewers.

"The Walking Dead" is set to return for its seventh season in October.