The highly-anticipated Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul premiered in dramatic fashion on Sunday night by shattering a cable ratings record, attracting an impressive 4.4 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic most coveted by advertisers. While the series’ first episode benefited from the strong lead-in of The Walking Dead’s midseason return, viewer and critic reviews indicate that Saul was truly deserving of being the record holder for cable’s biggest premiere ever in that key demographic.

The Walking Dead’s midseason return drew 15.6 million viewers to AMC at 9 p.m. on Sunday night, making it “the biggest regularly-scheduled program of 2015.” The episode garnered 10.1 million in the key 18-49 demographic, improving on its winter finale numbers of 9.6 million in that demographic. While a number of viewers seemingly stayed tuned to the network for the Better Call Saul premiere after The Walking Dead, the constantly high viewership of AMC’s Breaking Bad suggests that fans of the award-winning drama are still interested in small-time lawyer Saul Goodman enough to give the spinoff a chance.

E! Online asked readers to voice their opinions on the prequel, which is created by Breaking Bad‘s Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, and a surprising 93.5 percent voted that they “Loved it.” AMC president Charlie Collier released the impressive record-breaking draw of Saul in a press release on Monday, and expressed his satisfaction with the show’s performance thus far.

“In a competitive environment that sometimes gets as much press as the shows themselves, it is gratifying to deliver programming that breaks through and reaches passionate audiences. For AMC, it starts with the creative talent we are so fortunate to be working with,” said Collier. “We are supremely thankful for the talented people who call this network home, and for the fans who continue to make AMC a television destination unlike any other. Walking. Calling. Talking. Humbling.”

Critics will be able to get a better idea of how large Better Call Saul’s own audience actually is following the second episode of the series, which airs Monday at 10 p.m.