Did 'The Walking Dead' just kill 'Pan Am'?

Zombie drama outrated every show on networks with 7.3 million viewers in season premiere

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Scott Garfield / TWD productions LLC

AMC's "Walking Dead" did better than the broadcast networks' shows on Sunday night.

By Joal Ryan

updated 10/17/2011 4:57:28 PM ET

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The zombie apocalypse was not kind to Wisteria Lane. It showed no mercy to the law offices of Stern, Lockhart &Gardner.

And it just about obliterated those perky Pan-Am flight attendants, sorry, stewardesses.

A look at "Walking Dead's" record-breaking premiere, and what it means for the competition:

VOTE NOW: And Hollywood's top monster is...?

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The AMC monster saga's second-season opener averaged a whopping 7.3 million viewers, about the most cable has seen for a drama since the days of Tony Soprano and "The Sopranos."

Among all-important adults 18-49, AMC said, "The Walking Dead" was a basic-cable record-setter. On the night, it outrated every show on broadcast TV, save the zombie-proof Sunday Night Football.

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In head-to-flesh competition from 9 to 10:30 p.m., the super-sized episode dropped "Desperate Housewives" to a season low in the demo, bested "The Good Wife," and knocked "Pan Am" below a 2.0 rating.

An even worse sign for "Pan Am"? The struggling retro drama lost even more viewers after "Walking Dead" ended. "Pan Am" wound up as Sunday's lowest-rated broadcast scripted series. On the season, it is the only freshman show that ABC has neither picked up for the full season, nor canceled.

For "The Walking Dead," the performance was a sign that for all the buzz about showrunners, the offseason loss of creator and executive producer Frank Darabont wasn't a buzz-killer.

Then again, zombies are nothing if not resilient.

PHOTOS: Hollywood's Top Monsters—2011 Edition!

Did you watch "Walking Dead" Sunday night? What did you think? Share your thoughts on the Facebook page for our TV blog, The Clicker.

Photos: Creating 'Walking Dead's' zombies

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Tools of the trade
The extras who play the zombies on AMC's "The Walking Dead" didn't just have to go to Zombie School to learn how to shuffle and drag their legs, they had to wear heavy makeup to complete the look. Here's a peek at the work of makeup designer Greg Nicotero and his team, courtesy of AMC. (TWD Productions / Courtesy of AMC) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Layer by layer
Turning into a zombie isn't easy work. AMC reveals that the actors had to endure hours in the makeup chairs. On top of that, the featured zombies often had to wear special prosthetics, contacts and dentures. (TWD Productions / Courtesy of AMC) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Think thin
“Our zombies are tall, thin, and very gaunt looking and half the battle is finding great faces; faces that have a lot of character in them,” Nicotero said. (TWD Productions / Courtesy of AMC) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Different looks
Nicotero said that when a zombie actor came back for another day on set, the actor would see a different makeup artist each time. "If we had a repeat zombie we’d send them to different chairs so a different member of the team worked on them each time in order to switch up the looks a bit," he said. (TWD Productions / Courtesy of AMC) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Zombie No. 372
On the days when hundreds of zombies were required, Nicotero and his team had to get to work at the crack of dawn to make the actors look gory. (TWD Productions / Courtesy of AMC) Share Back to slideshow navigation
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Levels of decay
Nicotero said that there was much debate over how decomposed the zombies should look. The decision? Keep it varied. "We decided to keep it visually interesting," he said, "to hand-pick our zombies and to keep some of the makeups more ‘fresh’ looking, some in an accentuated state of decomposition and some in a complete state of decay." This makes it possible to show zombie degredation should the series become a success. (TWD Productions / Courtesy of AMC) Share Back to slideshow navigation
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Lights!
Without the constant cover of darkness, Nicotero and his team had to make sure the zombies looked good running around the city during the day. "The makeup (has) to stand up to pretty tough scrutiny," he said. (TWD Productions / Courtesy of AMC) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Touch-up, please
Filming in Atlanta means plenty of hot weather. Nicotero said that because of the temperature, one of the challenges was keeping the zombies looking appropriately nasty, which meant he and his staff "were always running around doing touch-ups." (TWD Productions / Courtesy of AMC) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Final product
“I don’t know that there’s anywhere in the world that you’ll find a better zombie,” said writer and director Frank Darabont. (TWD Productions / Courtesy of AMC) Share Back to slideshow navigation

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Did 'The Walking Dead' just kill 'Pan Am'?

Zombie drama outrated every show on networks with 7.3 million viewers in season premiere

Below:

Jump to photos Creating 'Walking Dead's' zombies

Photos: Creating 'Walking Dead's' zombies

Tools of the trade

Layer by layer

Think thin

Different looks

Zombie No. 372

Levels of decay

Lights!

Touch-up, please

Final product

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