The Walking Dead posted its third best numbers of the year on Sunday night when it returned from its midseason hiatus.

Rock in the Road, a well-received episode directed by executive producer Greg Nicotero, posted a 5.7 rating in the key 18-49 demo with 12 million total viewers.

With Sunday Night Football out of the picture for the first time in Season 7, the AMC series was competing with The Grammy's for the first time in two years. Still, the show managed to see a 13% increase from its midseason 7 finale which aired on December 11, 2016. It was a 12% increase in the key demo against Hearts Still Beating. 7x01 : 17.03 million

: 17.03 million 7x02 : 12.46 million

: 12.46 million 7x03 : 11.72 million

: 11.72 million 7x04 : 11.40 million

: 11.40 million 7x05 : 11.00 million

: 11.00 million 7x06 : 10.40 million

: 10.40 million 7x07 : 10.48 million

: 10.48 million 7x08 : 10.58 million

: 10.58 million 7x09: 12 million

It's likely no coincidence that The Walking Dead's ratings are rising at the same time its core characters are. Rock in the Road featured all of the AMC series' fan favorite characters and rather than having them bullied and humiliated for its slightly extended runtime (a point which was heavily emphasized in the first eight of Season 7), it had Rick Grimes rallying his community in the first efforts to take on Negan and the Saviors. UP NEXT: Who Cornered Rick's Group? Revealed!