The third-season debut of a basic cable drama has set ratings records in key demographics, reports the Los Angeles Times’ Show Tracker blog.

AMC’s "The Walking Dead" premiered Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, and ranked as the strongest drama telecast in basic cable history among key age groups. For its 9 p.m. season premiere, 8.1 million viewers tuned in, with that figure bumping up to 10.1 million viewers for the night, the story notes.

Among key demographics, 5.4 million of those were ages 18 to 49, up 12% from the previous record, held by the same show’s Season 2 premiere, and 4.4 million were in the 25-54 demo, up 6% from the record also held by “Walking Dead’s” Season 2 premiere, the story notes.