'The Walking Dead' midseason premiere draws 8.1M viewers

Apparently we still love zombies.

AMC's zombie drama, "The Walking Dead," returned last night after a winter hiatus and, according to a release from the cable network the show drew the highest viewership for a drama in basic cable history -- 8.1 million viewers, up by almost a million from it's Oct. 16 Season 2 premiere episode.

According to AMC, that puts the midseason premiere 12 percent ahead of its fall counterpart.

Not a bad number considering that the show was up against a Grammy Awards telecast that drew its second biggest ratings ever. We also don't yet have DVR ratings and the show tends to be one that has a loyal DVR following.

"Comic Book Men," the new docu-reality show about Kevin Smith's New Jersey comic book store, also drew respectable numbers with 2 million viewers.