For the first time, a cable show is the top-rated scripted series on television — and we have zombies to thank. AMC’s “The Walking Dead” was not only the highest-rated scripted show among adults ages 18-49 of the 2012-13 season, but the second-highest rated show overall, behind NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.”
It’s a victory not just for cable, but for scripted TV. For nearly a decade, the reality competition “American Idol” was television’s top-rated series. (It was only in 2011-12 that “Idol” was surpassed by football.)
With all the numbers in, CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” was the second-highest rated scripted show and the third highest-rated series overall.
Based on final Live + 7 numbers, which measure a show’s viewership over the week after it airs, “Sunday Night Football” averaged an 8.2 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. “Walking Dead” averaged a 7.5 rating, and “The Big Bang Theory” a 7.2.
“Walking Dead” wasn’t the top scripted show, however, in total viewers. That was CBS’s “NCIS,” which averaged 22.7 million viewers of all ages per episode.