‘The Walking Dead’ season 4 premiere manages to set another record, this time thanks to DVRs

Was “The Walking Dead” the most-watched program in cable history? If you exclude sporting events from the equation, then we now have a definitive answer for you with the live+3 data included: It was.

In what is a truly gargantuan and astounding number, the show’s season 4 premiere on Sunday night drew more than 20 million viewers when you factor in the three days following the episode first airing on AMC. What makes this even more impressive is the 18-49 rating of a 10.6. This is immense, and beyond incredible. Here’s an interesting bit of data for you in that regard: The last show to outright beat “The Walking Dead” in this measure was “Two and a Half Men” back in September 2011, which was the first episode without Charlie Sheen in the cast. That episode drew 28 million viewers and a 10.3 rating just in people watching live alone. You’ll have to go back several years to the dominance of “American Idol,” and when “Grey’s Anatomy” drew almost 25 million viewers a week, to find ratings of this level for a drama series. This is the sort of performance that almost numbs your brain to the point of it becoming a zombie… a TV watching zombie

With news like this coming out, we would not be surprised if in addition to “Talking Dead” they ordered a new reality show where contestants compete to become a zombie or what about a show called “Walking Bad,” where it is explained that the actual origins of the zombie virus come courtesy of a man who started selling off deadly diseases created in a lab after learning that he was suffering from one himself. Chris Hardwick will star in a spin-off of this, which is called “Walking and Talking Bad,” which will get a companion series where we learn that this disease-dealer is actually the son of Don Draper.

But, we digress. While “The Walking Dead” may not break this record with most of its upcoming episodes, look for either the midseason finale, the winter premiere in February, or the season finale later in the spring to compete for this title.

Want to have a little bit more fun before this upcoming “Walking Dead” episode airs? Then click here, where Lauren Cohan describes the idea of trying to practice hygiene in the midst of a post-apocalyptic world.

Photo: AMC