How To Watch ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9 Premiere Online

AMC

Tonight we’re welcoming back The Walking Dead. The show returns at 9 p.m. Eastern as Season 9 premieres. When Season 8 came to a close, we had lost Carl, and Morgan was moving to Fear the Walking Dead. Now things are about to be shaken up even more. The show will premiere at 9 p.m. Eastern on AMC and will air until 10:26 p.m. So fans will get 86 minutes rather than the typical 60 minutes tonight.

If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch AMC live on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:

Philo TV

AMC is included in Philo’s main 40-channel bundle, which is the cheapest among all streaming services if you plan on keeping it long-term. Additionally, if you sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, you’ll also get a coupon for half off your first month (billed after the trial).

Once signed up, you can watch a live stream of the show on your computer via the Philo website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Philo app.

If you can’t watch live, Philo also allows you to DVR programs and watch them up to 30 days later. And even if you forget to DVR something, Philo also comes with a 72-hour rewind feature, which allows you to replay any show or event that has aired in the last three days.

FuboTV

AMC is one of 85 channels included in the main Fubo bundle. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the show on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.

If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch most shows up to three days after they air even if you forgot to record them.

Sling TV

AMC is included in both the “Sling Orange” and “Sling Blue” channel packages. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial of either, and you can then watch the show live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.

If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.

Additional Options Through AMC

In addition to being able to watch AMC live via the above streaming services, you can also watch on your computer via AMC.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the AMC app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Philo or FuboTV credentials to do that.

If you miss live streaming the show tonight, your opportunity isn’t over. Full videos of each episode are typically available the day after the show airs, for a limited time, for people with a cable subscription. You can go directly to the episodes here.

And finally, if you don’t mind watching the episode tomorrow after it airs, you have some options for that too. The episode will be available the day after it airs in a variety of formats. (Sometimes, the episode is released earlier than this.) You can find the episode On Demand or on AMC.com here. If you don’t have a cable subscription, you can still watch the episode by purchasing it on iTunesAmazonGoogle Play, and Xbox. On Amazon, viewers who pre-order Season 9 of The Walking Dead will receive the episodes the day after they broadcast.


Preview

Tonight’s episode is called “A New Beginning.” AMC’s synopsis for tonight reads: “Rick and his group make a risky run into Washington, D.C. to search for artifacts they will need to build the civilization he and Carl envisioned.”

Here are the opening minutes of tonight’s premiere:

Fans are so excited about this season, but they’re also really worried about what’s going to happen. AMC has been advertising practically non-stop that this will be Rick’s final season. Unfortunately, with Carl gone, some of the opportunities that existed for telling a story after Rick is gone are no longer available to the show. Wouldn’t it have been just amazing to see Carl take over his dad’s mantle, after dealing with the grief of his father’s death, and turn into a new leader over the years?

It’s also going to be tough to guess where the show is going next, considering that Carl’s departure and now Rick’s are huge departures from the comic series too. Both characters are still very much around in the comics, and the storylines the show is heading into involve both of them. So it’s anybody’s guess at this point just how closely the show is going to try to follow the comics’ storylines, or if it’s going to depart into completely new territory.

At Heavy, we got to see the Season 9 premiere early, and we won’t spoil anything here, but I can definitely say that the show is heading in a good direction. The characters are well fleshed-out this time around, and the first episode really delves into their struggles and triumphs since Season 8. You’ll notice some changes in the characters’ dynamics that are natural after a time jump, and you won’t be disappointed. If this episode is any indication, there are some really good things in store for the show in the coming season. But can the show survive Rick’s departure? Only time will tell on that one. It won’t be easy, but a lot of it depends on how these next few episodes go.