AMC’s ‘Turn’ doesn’t get ‘Walking Dead’ ratings, but has plenty to smile about

The early ratings are in for AMC’s new series “Turn,” and all in all, the network should feel pretty happy with how the show started.

The lengthy series premiere on Sunday night, which had the challenge of coming on the air against the ACM Awards and also the “Game of Thrones” premiere over on HBO, drew more than 2 million viewers. While this is a far cry from the massive audience that “The Walking Dead” got for its ending of season 4, you had to expect that.

What is going to be a little bit more celebratory for AMC as a network is this: The show’s ratings ended up being ultimately superior to those of either “Breaking Bad” or “Mad Men” when they premiered on the network years ago. This is a network that realizes that the majority of their hits are not going to be born overnight, and so long as you do not completely stink up the joint ratings wise in the way that “Low Winter Sun” did, you’re going to be okay. Patience is a virtue, and that is something the show and the network desperately need to exercise. Who knows? Maybe by around the second or third season, this could become more of a hit despite the competition.

Just in case you are wondering why “Turn” is premiering in what looks to be a very insane timeslot, the simple answer to that is that the show is coming on next week against “Mad Men,” and there is no way that AMC wants to put one of their most-successful series against Danaerys and her dragons.

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Photo: AMC