‘Walking Dead’ comes alive in ratings for AMC

Walter who?

“Breaking Bad” is over, but AMC’s Sunday nights have come back to life with the new season of “The Walking Dead,” which debuted with record ratings for the series, up against heavy competition including NFL games and the MLB playoffs.

The fourth-season premiere drew 16.1 million viewers, with 10.4 million in the advertiser-desired 18-49 age demographic, according to Nielsen.

PHOTOS: Behind the scenes of ‘The Walking Dead’

That easily tops the numbers for the Season 3 finale, which was the previous record-holder. That episode brought in 12.4 million viewers and 8.1 million in the demographic.

Sunday night’s telecast outperformed all programs in the key demographic in prime time so far this season, even including NFL football games.

The “Walking Dead” premiere also generated 1.17 million mentions on Twitter.

Last month’s series finale of “Breaking Bad” drew more than 10 million viewers.

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Twitter: @rfaughnder

ryan.faughnder@latimes.com