The Walking Dead opened to a huge audience Sunday night (Halloween) in its series premiere, justifying AMC’s full-on promotional campaign.

The show — about a sheriff’s deputy trying to survive and find his family in the zombie apocalypse — was watched by 5.3 million viewers last night, which was AMC’s highest-rated series premiere ever.

Most importantly for the network, The Walking Dead was watched by 3.6 million viewers from 18-49, which is the key demographic for television executives.

“It’s a good day to be dead,” said AMC president Charlie Collier. “We are so proud of this series, its depth of storytelling and the remarkable talent attached.”

If you haven’t seen The Walking Dead, please do. The pilot was amazing.