Ratings for the latest episode of The Walking Dead “New Best Friends” stay high and the final numbers for the midseason premiere “Rock In The Road” jumped in Live +3 views.

Season 7B of The Walking Dead started strong in live views. The midseason premiere “Rock In The Road” had 12 million live views when it aired on February 12th. It added another 3.9 million views in Live+3 views.

Episode 10, “New Best Friends” came in strong with 11 million live views. “New Best Friends” featured a long-awaited reunion between Daryl and Carol at The Kingdom that fans were really happy to see. The second episode of season 7B also introduced a new community, The Scavengers.

The Scavengers could be the game changing group for Rick’s growing army. The leader, Jadis, made a deal with Rick to help in the war. She will commit her large force of fighters to the war. But in order to get their help Rick needs to find guns to arm them all.

Critics who criticized the first half of The Walking Dead season 7 have used low live views as evidence of the show’s waning appeal. But the low live numbers don’t accurately reflect the show’s still huge viewing audience. Season 7A averaged more than 15 million views per episode after Live+3 and Live+7 views were counted.

Season 7B is on track to match that. “Rock In The Road” finished with over 15 million views after the additional views were counted. You can expect the ratings for “New Best Friends” to jump by 3-4 million when all the views are counted too.

Critics Blame Negan For Live Views Drop

The ratings for the first half of The Walking Dead season 7 have been a hot topic among critics of the show. Some critics said thegraphic deaths of Glenn and Abe in the season premiere made people quit watching. Other critics feel that Negan is changing the show to the point where previously loyal fans don’t want to watch.

As usual, the critics are wrong. Live views are lower than in previous seasons, that’s true. But that has more to do with the amount of people who no longer watch live TV than the show’s content.

Throughout the first half of the season views of each episode rose by millions. Each episode saw a gain of 3-4 million when all the views were counted. That means that more people than ever are actually watching the show. They’re just not watching it on Sunday nights.

The Walking Dead’s ratings have continued to grow every season. It remains the number one show on cable TV. The critics who are proclaiming that Negan will kill the show will be waiting a long time if they’re waiting for the show to tank in the ratings.