With "Breaking Bad" having ended its run on AMC, industry watchers are waiting to see whether another cable series will fill the void in viewers and buzz — and they may have got their answer Sunday night.

The Los Angeles Times reports that another AMC show, "The Walking Dead," premiered Sunday to 16.1 million viewers, including a whopping 10.4 million in the key 18-49 demo. The massive turnout for the season four premiere easily outpaced the show’s previous record mark, for the season three finale. That episode delivered 12.4 million total viewers and 8.1 million in the key demo, the piece reports.

Even more impressive, Sunday’s turnout came against competition from the NFL and the baseball playoffs.

"Sunday night’s telecast outperformed all programs in the key demographic in prime time so far this season, even including NFL football games," the Times reports. "The ‘Walking Dead’ premiere also generated 1.17 million mentions on Twitter."

The piece notes that the series finale of "Breaking Bad" on AMC late last month delivered more than 10 million viewers.