‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7 Premieres with Close to Record-Breaking 17 Million Viewers, Negan’s Victims Finally Revealed

‘The Walking Dead’ season 7 premiere managed to draw in 17 million viewers, a close call from season 5’s all-time record-breaking 17.3 million viewers. Negan’s victims are finally revealed in the new season.

According to Deadline, the season 7 premiere of ‘The Walking Dead’ took in a near record-breaking 17 million views. Fans tuned in on October 23 for the first episode, entitled “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be,” directed by Greg Nicotero and written by Scott M. Gimple.

Although it didn’t quite top the season 5 premiere’s all-time high of 17.3 million views with 11 million in the coveted 18-49s demographic, season 7’s episode 1 managed to draw in 17.03 million views with 10.7 million among adults aged 18-49. It had an 8.4 rating compared to season 5’s 8.7 rating, according to E! News.

The highly controversial season 6 cliffhanger prompted fans to speculate about who would be on the receiving end of Lucille, Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) barbed-wire covered bat. Episode 1 finally revealed that Negan’s victims turned out to be Glenn and Abraham.

Actor Michael Cudlitz, who portrayed former military sergeant Abraham Ford, admitted that he even had to keep his character’s death secret from his own children. Cudlitz said, "I didn't want them to have to process it when they weren't home and then maybe slip up and tell their friends at school… I wanted them to be at home and be able to look them in the eye and explain what was going to happen and how important it was to keep the secret—like really important…"

Norman Reedus, who plays hunter Daryl Dixon on the show, shared that the death of the two characters also affected the cast and crew of the highly-popular zombie-drama series. He admitted on ‘The Talking Dead’ aftershow, “We are such a close family… we do suffer for this show and it means a lot to us, and to feel that from [the audience] is kind of awesome.”

Steven Yeun also addressed his character Glenn’s death saying, “The death in the comic Robert (Kirkman) wrote was such a messed up, but at the same time incredible way to take something away, and make a story as impactful as it is… When you read that comic you kind of don’t want that to go to anyone else. I think I even said ‘don’t give that to anybody else.”

He continued, “I’m very lucky to have my castmates and my friends here to bounce things off.”

‘The Walking Dead’ season 7 premiered on AMC on October 23, 2016. Season 7’s episode 2, entitled "The Well", is scheduled to air on the network on October 30.