AMC premiered season three of The Walking Dead and out-delivered cable and broadcast hits including Hatfields &ampamp McCoys, Jersey Shore, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory and The Voice.” The 21.00 ET premiere garnered 10.9 million viewers and a 7.4 HH rating making it the highest rated episode in series history, and growing more than 50% over last season’s premiere.

The season 3 premiere now reigns as the biggest telecast for any drama series in basic cable history among all viewers. The Walking Dead encored at 22.00pm with 3.5 million viewers and midnight with 850,000 viewers delivering 15.2 million viewers for the night.

“We are thrilled at the news coming from the biggest and most dynamic entertainment television market in the world. This leaves us in full anticipation for an epic season premiere locally.

“The figures are a great stamp of approval for the quality that we believe our now – universally recognized series,” said Thandi Davids; FOX Africa director of marketing and sales.

For the past two years, The Walking Dead has received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup (2012/2011). In 2010, The Walking Dead secured a Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series - Drama. The Walking Dead tells the story of the months and years that follow the zombie apocalypse. It tracks a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safety and security.

Season three of The Walking Dead is already receiving rave reviews with the New York Post stating that the series is “flat-out scariest, best, most unusual show to ever hit the small screen is back, and I’m loving every sickening minute of it.” Newsday states that season three, “doesn’t disappoint.” The Houston Chronicle declared that, “in less than two years, The Walking Dead has jumped into a crowded pop-culture pool of serial killers, vampires and dragons to become a darling of the horror fantasy set.”