The Walking Dead season 8 Comic-Con trailer has broken the show's previous viewership record. The highly anticipated season 8 premiere sees the fallout from the season 7 finale, 'The First Day of the Rest of Your Life', in which Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and the Alexandria group fought alongside the Kingdom and the Hilltop against Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his Saviors so that they could all one-day live free of Negan's terror.
The upcoming eighth season has been heralded as being the show's best season yet, as well as being more action-packed than last season's slow burn. Some of those action scenes were teased in the season's first trailer. AMC debuted The Walking Dead's season 8 trailer during their Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con last weekend, and it caused quite the stir with its many teases, such as the last scene showing Rick Grimes with a longer than usual beard using a cane.
According to the network, the season 8 trailer had garnered over 31 million views from across YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and AMC.com in its first four days, thus beating its previous record as well as surpassing other major trailers released during SDCC 2017. In a statement, AMC Studios president Charlie Collier had the following to say:
“Thank you to the fans for, once again, filling Hall H at Comic-Con, our lucky seventh year in a row sharing this hallowed, fan-first experience. And, since Friday's ‘The Walking Dead’ panel ended, thanks to fans all over the world for watching our season eight trailer more than 31 million times, and counting. To receive this type of record-breaking response heading into the series' 100th episode is beyond gratifying. We look forward to sharing so much more with you as we count down to an unforgettable season.”
The season 8 trailer amassed six million more views compared to the 25 million views last year's season 7 Comic-Con trailer earned in the four days after its release. Interestingly, one would think that last year's trailer would have earned the most views since it was teasing the highly anticipated reveal of whom Negan had killed. Then again, many people were irked by the cliffhanger, which was something the showrunner and producers opted not to repeat this year.
It's also worth noting that the uptick in trailer views doesn't always indicate an uptick in ratings or viewership. The Walking Dead saw its viewership steadily decline throughout season 7, though that didn't prevent the series from maintaining its title as the highest-rated show on television. Furthermore, it remains the dominating TV series with regard to social media engagement. The upcoming season 8 premiere marks the show's 100th episode since its beginning in October 2010, so perhaps we'll see the premiere break the network's previous ratings records as well.
The Walking Dead season 8 premieres on October 22.
Next: The Walking Dead Season 8 Trailer, Cast, And Every Update You Need To Know
Source: AMC