‘Fear the Walking Dead’ season 2 premiere ratings strong, but down

For AMC and “Fear the Walking Dead,” success is really all about comparisons. For example, it’s clearly wrong at this point to compare this show to “The Walking Dead” proper, given that this show has an enormous following plus also devoted comic-book readers. Viewers for “Fear the Walking Dead” are doing so based on trust that Robert Kirkman can deliver something cool yet again.

Do we think the show is flawed, and missing still iconic characters like the flagship has with Rick, Carol, or Daryl Dixon? Definitely, but there are still some merits here, and those are reflected in the numbers. The good news is that the premiere episode generated a 3.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic Sunday, which is easily enough to make this show the #1 program of the night in terms of scripted fare. However, this is also lower than the show’s previous low of a 3.3 from the summer, and we expect this number to go down further.

For those wondering what the biggest obstacle for the series could be, it’ll arrive on April 24 when “Game of Thrones” season 6 premieres on HBO. In some ways, AMC is stuck between a rock and a hard place here. They don’t want to move “Fear” away from its 9:00 p.m. timeslot, especially since they want to keep “Talking Dead” on in an hour where people would still watch. Do we think they should have considered airing “Fear” at 10:00 and moving back “Talking Dead” an hour? Maybe, but maybe they’re expecting such big DVR numbers that it really won’t matter.

For those wondering, “Talking Dead” scored a 1.1 rating for its first episode after “Fear the Walking Dead” this season. By comparison, the one following “The Walking Dead” scored a 3.1 in its own right.

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