The first half of The Walking Dead Season 5 went out with a literal and figurative bang Sunday night.
The series saw its highest-rated midseason finale ever with its most recent episode, garnering 14.8 million total viewers and 9.6 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen figures released by AMC. Those numbers represent an increase of 23% and 24%, respectively, compared to last year.
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These ratings will climb even more after DVR playback is factored in during the coming days.
Overall, the first half of the season has been a crazy success for the network, which used last night's character-killing episode to tout the upcoming premiere of Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul. In fact, it has beat Sunday Night Football among viewers 18-49 five times during the 8-episode first half of its season.
This success has also boded well Talking Dead, the Chris Hardwick-hosted after show, which drew 6.6 million viewers Sunday night for an episode that featured executive producer Robert Kirkman and departing cast member Emily Kinney.
Kinney's character Beth was killed in the midseason closer. People did not handle that development well.
Overall, The Walking Dead is enjoying a 12 percent bump in ratings this season -- an impressive feat for a show in its fifth season and even more evidence to support AMC's decision to explore a spin-off series.
The Walking Dead returns with the second half of its season Feb. 8.