‘The X-Files’ season 10 premiere nears ‘Empire,’ ‘The Walking Dead’ in live+3 data

So how many people really watched the return of “The X-Files” earlier this week? Some more numbers are starting to come in, and the figures are definitely impressive and then some.

Per a report from Deadline, the episode Sunday night posted a grand total of 20.3 million viewers once the live+3 data was calculated, and this includes a 7.8 rating in the key adults 18-49 demographic. This makes “The X-Files” the #3 show of the 2015-16 season so far in this live+3 measure, only tracking behind another Fox show in “Empire” and AMC’s zombie mega-hit “The Walking Dead.”

Unfortunately for the David Duchovny – Gillian Anderson series, we see this being the peak of what the show is going to be able to draw this year. There was a tremendous amount of hype around the return of the show, and to go along with that there was also a huge ratings bump thanks to the NFC Championship Game. We feel like so long as the series continues to draw over a 2.0 rating in the demo, there’s a very good chance that another batch of episodes could be ordered in the future. It went past a 3.0 in its second episode, so we’re in good shape so far.

The best news for the show is that in terms of quality, perhaps the best episode of the season is still coming. The reviews for Monday night’s monster-themed installment have been overwhelmingly positive, with many critics claiming that it is a wonderful throwback to classic episodes.

If you’re interested in seeing more of what will be coming up on the show Monday night, head over here to see a preview right now! Also, you can sign up over here to score some additional TV news on everything we cover at CarterMatt, sent right over to you via our newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)