The Walking Dead Season 7 Premiere Reaches 17 Million Viewers, But It's Not a Record

17 million people tuned in to the Season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead on Sunday to see who Negan would kill, coming close to matching an all-time high for the AMC show.

The Season 5 premiere remains the top performer in terms of viewers, picking up 17.3 million when it aired in October 2014, according to Deadline. That episode scored 11 million viewers in the 18-49 range, compared to 10.5 million for Season 7's premiere.

Strong ratings for The Walking Dead Season 7's premiere, "The Day Will Come When You Won't," aren't a real surprise, considering the huge cliffhanger that the Season 6 finale ended with. Season 7's premiere episode finally answered question of which character Negan would kill with his barbed wire baseball bat.

You can watch the episode right here on AMC's website. For lots more on the episode, check out GameSpot's video recap here. You can also read our feature that covers four major developments from the episode. For a wider look at Season 7, check out our roundup of five things you need to know. Be aware that all of these stories contain spoilers.

An eighth season of The Walking Dead is on the way, scheduled to start in late 2017 with the show's 100th episode. Showrunner Scott Gimple is coming back for the new season.