The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon surpasses Dead City in ways no one expected

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, AMC's most recent entry into the Walking Dead universe, has Become the Biggest AMC+ Premiere Ever, as reported by Variety. The series has broken all previous records set by its predecessors, even outperforming The Walking Dead: Dead City. The series, which captivated fans across the world, debuted in September 2022 and stars Norman Reedus as the protagonist. All the praise and views it is getting is thanks to its compelling plot and innovative take on the beloved franchise.

The six-episode spinoff finds Daryl Dixon washing up on a French beach, lost and wondering how he arrived there. As the plot develops, he ends up taking on the role of a guardian of a little kid who is said to be born to greatness named Laurent. The David Zabel-produced series has a strong ensemble cast, including Clémence Poésy of Harry Potter and Melissa McBride, who as Carol Peletier is reprising her role.

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The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon breaks viewership records

While Variety reported it, AMC confirmed that The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon had the most viewers in the history of AMC+ streaming. The series managed to break the previous record set by Dead City. This record-breaking performance paved the way for Daryl Dixon to perhaps be the highest-watched series of any program in AMC+ history. The news that Dead City and Daryl Dixon will both return for a second season has fans of both shows and The Walking Dead universe pleased.

The popularity of the series may be quantified in terms of statistics. Episode 4 of the series set records for both overall viewers and the highly sought-after demographic for the streaming platform. The spinoff attracted an amazing 1.1 million viewers, according to the Nielsen Live+3 ratings, with 392,000 of them being in the 25–54 age range.

Norman Reedus plays Daryl Dixon in the series (Image via AMC)

Some early criticisms did point out the similarities between HBO's The Last of Us, and Daryl Dixon. However, the series has now been considered to be the finest addition to the Walking Dead franchise in years. The series has an average score of 8.1/10 and almost a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The numbers speak for themselves as the series has definitely made a favorable impact on both viewers and reviewers.

Dan McDermott, the president of AMC Studios and Entertainment, acknowledged his enthusiasm with how the show is performing in a statement.

"Thanks to Norman Reedus for bringing his 'bad decisions' to France, to David Zabel, Scott M. Gimple, Clémence Poésy, and the rest of the outstanding cast, and to the most passionate and committed fans in entertainment. There is so much more and so many great surprises to come for this show and across this expanding universe," McDermott said.

That's not all, before it airs on television on October 15, 2023, AMC will provide a special screening of the season finale of the series at New York Comic Con on October 12, 2023. Norman Reedus, David Zabel, Scott M. Gimple, and Greg Nicotero will all make appearances at the event. They will discuss the first season of the show as well as what fans can anticipate from the upcoming second season of Daryl Dixon.

Daryl Dixon is now on track to have the most viewers of any show in AMC+ history. (Image via AMC)

Last but not least, Walking Dead fans should be even more excited as they have something else to look forward to. An upcoming series, The Ones Who Live, is scheduled to debut in 2024 and will see Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira make a comeback to the franchise.

The popularity of Daryl Dixon and AMC's commitment to growing the Walking Dead universe make the next phase of the franchise appear more promising than ever. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is currently available to stream on AMC+.