The Walking Dead shed another portion of its audience with its midseason finale on Sunday night.

The AMC series nabbed an average of 7.9 million viewers, earning a 3.4 rating in the key 18-49 demo in live-plus-same day returns per THR's report. With non-stop chatter since the episode aired, mostly surround the major character's death, the live+3 numbers will likely see a monstrous improvement. Live+3 improvements have been the case recently for the AMC series, with Episode 8x07 jumping 45% in viewership by adding the fans watching on their own time reaching 10.7 million.

The Walking Dead remains the top-rated series on cable with such numbers and saw a bump from Episode 8x07's live numbers of 7.47 million and a 3.3 ratings. However, the AMC series has posted its lowest rated midseason finale since Season 2's 8.1 million viewer audience.

Here are the audience and ratings numbers for The Walking Dead half way through its eighth season:

Episode 8x01: 11.44 million (5.0)

Episode 8x02: 8.92 million (4.0)

Episode 8x03: 8.52 million (3.8)

Episode 8x04: 8.69 million (3.9)

Episode 8x05: 7.85 million (3.4)

Episode 8x06: 8.3 million (3.6)

Episode 8x07: 7.47 million (3.3)

Episode 8x08: 7.9 million (3.4)

Episode 8x08, the midseason finale, is titled, "How It's Gotta Be." The official synopsis for How It's Gotta Be reads, "Every story and battle from the first half of the season comes together." The midseason finale ran for an extended time, concluding at 10:28 pm ET as opposed to the standard 10:00 pm ET.

"What I care about is just, the first season when we didn't know, we were just doing it for ourselves," Rick Grimes actor Andrew Lincoln told ComicBook.com of the show's ratings. "We were doing it for anybody who watched it! Why would I change that attitude now? You know what I mean? You do it for the people you work amongst and your own satisfaction. The fact is, Brandon, if I wanted it to be a ratings juggernaut, I'm gonna be disappointed. I'm gonna be so angry at the end of every day's work. This is a unique experience."

The Walking Dead returns for the second half of its eighth season on February 25, 2018. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.