'The Walking Dead's' Midseason Premiere Sets Basic Cable Records

Gene Page/AMC

"The Walking Dead"

AMC's The Walking Dead returned for the second half of its sophomore season with record ratings Sunday.

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The zombie drama based on the comic series created by Robert Kirkman collected 8.1 million total viewers, and set records in a pair of demos: adults 18-49 (5.4 million viewers) and adults 25-54 (4.4 million).

Sunday's ratings topped the Andrew Lincoln starrer's previous record, when October's 90-minute Season 2 premiere drew 7.3 million viewers and set then-records in the two demos. October's Season 2 bow became the strongest telecast for any drama in basic-cable history in two key demos, collecting 4.8 million in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic and 4.2 million adults 25-54, shattering a nearly 10-year-old record for the demos.

December 2010's Season 1 finale drew 6 million viewers, including 4 million in 18-49 and setting a then-record for the most-watched basic cable series of all time in the demo.

Sunday's ratings were up 12 percent and 6 percent in the 18-49 and 25-54 demos. Including encore showings, the midseason premiere that saw Rick (Lincoln) and company encounter a new outside threat from the living, collected 10.1 million total viewers.

Dead served as a lead-in for the premiere of Kevin Smith's unscripted series Comic Book Men, which premiered at 10 p.m. and collected 2 million total viewers.

"It is a great night for AMC. We're thrilled to see this incredible record breaking response to The Walking Dead, and Comic Book Men is off to a strong start as well," AMC president Charlie Collier said in a statement announcing the news Monday.

The record ratings come as Kirkman faces a lawsuit from childhood friend Tony Moore over financial compensation to the lucrative franchise and a month after AMC announced it would expand the third season of the series to 16 episdoes.

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