The Walking Dead Season 9 has been off the air since way back in November, when the midseason finale blew the minds of viewers everywhere by killing off Jesus and officially introducing the Whisperers in one fell swoop. The midseason premiere is scheduled to air on February 10, but there’s a way for fans to catch the episode a full week earlier. Here’s how you can return to the zombie apocalypse this very weekend.
The midseason premiere will become available on Sunday, February 3 on the AMC Premiere streaming service. Unlike when episodes air at a set time on a set date, the early access -- called “Adaptation” -- won't require you to tune in at any specific point. After the episode goes live on AMC Premiere, Deadline reports subscribers have the entire week to watch before non-subscribers get more than the preview footage and teases.
If you don’t have access to AMC Premiere and aren’t interested in subscribing, you’ll unfortunately be stuck waiting until February 10. You can always seek out spoilers if you’re dying for the details ahead of time, but if you’re a spoiler-phobe, you may want to curate your social media next week! The streaming service also released the Season 9 premiere ahead of its air date, although only by one day as opposed to a full week.
AMC Premiere isn’t a streaming service a la Netflix or Hulu. Rather, it’s a premium upgrade to the AMC channel that’s already part of subscribers’ pay TV package, so you can’t just subscribe without already having access to the cable channel. For an additional fee of $4.99 per month, subscribers can watch current AMC shows without commercial interruption as well as gain early access or sometimes even full-season access for certain shows.
The streaming service released the whole first season of The Terror last year, as one example. Although The Walking Dead is definitely not pulling in the kind of record-breaking ratings it once did, I can’t imagine AMC releasing a full season at once any time soon. The traditional ratings may be disappointing compared to previous The Walking Dead numbers, but they’re still great for AMC. AMC Premiere subscribers also gain access to special content, which can include exclusive extended episodes, sneak peeks, uncut movies, and bonus scenes.
Speaking of ratings, it’s probably for the best that the midseason premiere won’t hit the airwaves rather than just the streaming service this weekend. February 3 is the Super Bowl, which is a TV event that draws huge ratings every year. Whether people tune in for the football, the commercials, or just out of tradition, the Super Bowl would likely cost The Walking Dead a chunk of the audience that still remains invested in the zombie apocalypse.
If you’re interested in AMC Premiere and don’t currently subscribe, you can sign up on Comcast, YouTube TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Apple iOS. If you’re content to wait until next week for more Whisperers, the midseason premiere of The Walking Dead will hit AMC’s airwaves at 9 p.m. ET on February 10. For more key dates now and in the coming weeks, swing by our midseason TV premiere schedule.
