'Game of Thrones' season finale breaks series' viewership record

While the number of characters recently fell on Sunday's "Game of Thrones" season finale, the ratings numbers are actually at their highest.

The Season 5 finale was watched by a tremendous 8.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen's live plus same day numbers.

That means the HBO drama scored its largest audience ever. Previously, "GOT's" fifth season premiere held the record with an even 8 million viewers.

Furthermore, Sunday's finale beat last year's season-ender by about a million viewers, an increase of 14.4%. The Season 4 finale was watched by 7.1 million viewers.

For Sunday, "Game of Thrones" was the No. 1 most-watched show of the night.

"GOT" and AMC's "The Walking Dead," which just netted 15.8 million viewers for its sixth season finale, are proving that genre shows can grow beyond small niche audiences.