Nielsens: 'Dead,' 'Horror Story' make strong returns

Dead rises, again. The fifth-season premiere of AMC's The Walking Dead climbed to a series-high 17.3 million viewers Sunday, up from 16.1 million last fall, that ranks it as the most-watched entertainment series on cable, and maintains its status as the top young-adult draw in all of TV, besting Sunday Night Football. Companion series Talking Dead, which followed, earned a best-yet 6.9 million.

More scare tactics. American Horror Story: Freak Show, the fourth chapter of FX's anthology series, opened with a best-yet 6.1 million viewers Wednesday. And CW's The Flash opened with a strong 4.8 million Tuesday (pending updates).

Going home. Showtime's Homeland dipped to 1.2 million viewers Sunday, from 1.6 million for last week's 2-hour opener. And the premiere of The Affair, which followed, claimed an unsexy 507,000 same-day viewers.