AMC’s The Walking Dead season 5 premiere broke records last night as 17.3 million people tuned in to watch the show’s return.

The Walking Dead’s previous high was 16.11 million for its fourth-season premiere last year, and now its new record is 17.3 million, which it took in last night during the incredibly exciting season 5 premiere.

The show also broke another viewing record with the highly coveted 18-49 audience, with an 8.7 rating. Variety reports that equals roughly 11 million viewers in the most sought after viewer age range.

Last night’s episode wasn’t just viewed by the masses, it was adored. The first episode of The Walking Dead season 5 was incredibly exciting and moved almost unbelievably quick through the Terminus storyline.

Carol certainly gained some additional fans last night, as she helped save Rick and the gang from the cannibals at Terminus, and we imagine she’ll continue to play a pivotal role in the highly popular show.

The show has already been renewed for a sixth season, a week before season 5 premiered. So it’s not exactly a surprise that season 5 is smashing records already.

For comparison, The Big Bang Theory scored less than half the rating that The Walking Dead did in the same demographic, so AMC’s biggest show is off to a great start. We look forward to Walking Dead season 5’s second episode, which is titled “Strangers.”

The Walking Dead season 5 continues this Sunday at 9 p.m. eastern/pacific on AMC.