The originally announced plan for Fear the Walking Dead Flight 462, the special miniseries set onboard an aircraft in-flight during the early days of the outbreak, was that it would be aired as an attachment to episodes of The Walking Dead, and posted online. AMC has shifted up the timeline a bit, releasing the first episode of Flight 462 on their mobile app in advance of this weekend’s season premiere of Dead.
Traditionally, extra content like this means live TV viewers get the first chance to see something, and is an effort to boost episode ratings on-air. AMC seems to be using this week to drive viewers to download their mobile app, which the network has long stocked with supplementary content to shows like Breaking Bad and Rectify. You can even watch full episodes using the login information for your cable service. Occasionally the network will make episodes available to anyone, with or without a cable account.
The miniseries is a bit of a bridge between Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead, perhaps showing how the infection spread across the nation and spun out of control. One character from Flight 462 will survive and be included in season 2 of Fear. The network is keeping their secrets close however; all episode pages for Flight 462 on IMDb are still devoid of cast lists.
All we can really tell from this preview clip is that we’re trapped on a full aircraft with some nervous flyers and a slightly devious teen. (No doubt it will spark panic in a few uneasy flyers.)
Both Dead series have set viewing records, with last season’s Walking Dead finale drawing 15.8 million viewers – not bad for a fifth season. The show by far beat its competitors last year in the 18-49 demographic, averaging 14.2 million viewers per episode.
Fear the Walking Dead debuted to a cable-record 13.3 million viewers (including time-shifted viewing) and held on to 6.8 million for the season finale. Viewers who came to the series looking for the same action as The Walking Dead jumped ship by episode 3, as Fear is a slower-paced, more character and mood driven show. Critics are still backing it though, with a 79% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 66% positive score on Metacritic.