Josh McDermitt On ‘Walking Dead’ Ratings: ‘In Your Face Football!’

For actor Josh McDermitt, The Walking Dead‘s continual ratings success over the NFL holds a special place in his heart.

“It’s a little bit of justice for me,” McDermitt told Access Hollywood, “just because I kind of rode the bench when I played football, so I’m kind of like, ‘Yeah! In your face, football!'”

McDermiit portrays Dr. Eugene Porter, the one Walking Dead character who may or may not hold the key to ending the zombie plague that has turned everyone’s life upside down. And while beating out the NFL Game of The Week on NBC in certain demographics is nice, Josh assures all Walking Dead fans out there that ratings is not the primary objective of the show.

“We’re not doing it for the ratings, we’re not doing it to try and boost the visibility of the show… That’s awesome, we love it, but really we don’t pay attention to it. If we did, the show would suck.”

[Warning: Spoilers Ahead!]

So far, Season 5 of The Walking Dead has been both a ratings juggernaut for AMC and an exceptional thrill ride for fans. Rick and company escaped the clutches of the evil cannibal Gareth, and then in a shocking twist, massacred the rest of Gareth’s cannibals after they returned to Rick for vengeance. Then, Rick’s group split into two with McDermitt’s Euguene and company joining Abraham, Glenn, Maggie, and Rosita as they pursue the “zombie cure” Euguene claims to have knowledge of. That will lead Josh and company into Washington D.C., which fans of the popular comic book know is an important stop on their journey.

Cleveland.com however is quick to point out the differences between The Walking Dead TV show and the comic book in terms of where we are in both worlds.

“In the comic book, Rick, Carl and the others are still with Abraham. However, it appears Glenn (along with Maggie) will take on the role of Rick, as a voice of reason to help counter Abraham’s militant nature. In the comic, Glenn and Maggie have their own drama to deal with. But that’s likely to take a backseat on the TV series to the development of the Abraham character.”

Meanwhile, Rick and company are dealing with their own crisis involving Carol, Daryl, and Beth. Following the cannibals storyline, Daryl and Carol set out to find Beth who had gone missing during Season 4. As previously reported by Inquisitr, many outlets are reporting that Beth may end up on the deceased list even though viewers recently re-connected with her character in last week’s episode of The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead Season 5 continues on AMC, Sunday at 9 p.m.