The post-apocalyptic zombie-themed series, "The Walking Dead," is seeing an improvement in its ratings and viewership numbers. Previously, the AMC show had been seeing a downward trend in ratings, but the recent episode aired on Sunday, Nov. 12, proved otherwise.

"The Walking Dead" season 8 had a rough start, with its premiere only getting a 5.0 rating compared to the previous season's 8.4-rated premiere. The current installment further headed to a downward path with its second and third episodes getting even lower ratings. But, as luck might have it, the fourth episode, titled "Some Guy," seems to have turned the tables for the show.

The fourth episode of the eighth season of "The Walking Dead" saw the death of King Ezekiel's (Khary Payton) loyal pet tiger, Shiva. In a heroic move, Shiva sacrificed herself for her master, Jerry (Cooper Andrews), and Carol (Melissa McBride). Not only did the King have the hardest time accepting this, fans were also heartbroken over Shiva's death. As ironic as it may seem, the episode which showed the animal's death and his master's mourning garnered 8.69 million viewers from the 18-49 age bracket, as compared to last week's 8.52-million audience.

This is a small increase, but it could possibly be the start of a continuous and constant increase in the audience numbers. "The Walking Dead" season 8 episode 4 got a 3.9 rating, while episode 3 titled "Monsters," where viewers saw the death of Eric (Jordan Woods-Robinson), earned a 3.8 rating.

The improvement could still be considered beneficial for "The Walking Dead" season, which has lately been getting its lowest ratings since 2012. Despite the past weeks' low numbers, "The Walking Dead" remains the most-watched cable show every Sunday. This week, it was followed by "Talking Dead" with a 1.3 rating and Bravo's "Real Housewives of Atlanta" with 1.0.

"The Walking Dead" airs every Sundays, at 9 p.m. EST on AMC.