Just as "The Killing" seemingly fell dead in the water last July, the show's third season premiere arrived yesterday after AMC and Netflix brought it back to life with solid ratings to boot.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two-hour season premiere for the crime drama averaged 1.8 million viewers. With 671,000 adults 25-54 and 563,000 adults 18-49, the numbers are equal to the previous season's premiere.

"If we viewers are addicts, the best way to break a connection with a show that's bringing us down is to go cold turkey. If you managed to avoid the first two episodes of Season 3, you may have gotten that monkey off your back," wrote Browbeat writer June Thomas.

"If you watched, chances are you'll be there until the end, feeling bad about being entertained by rape and murder until they reveal whodunit in the season's final frames."

Considering AMC canceled the show on July 27, 2012, giving fans and die-hard haters all the signs to tune out, this is a sizeable accomplishment.

After it was reported that Fox Television Studios was in negotiations with Netflix and DirecTV to resurrect the series, AMC and Netflix eventually reached a deal which allowed the network to air the episodes before being hosted by Netflix.

And the efforts seem to have paid off. For now.

"The show's third season kicked off with a two-hour installment Sunday which, while just as dour and depressing as ever, felt far more accessible than before," voiced Today Entertainment writer Will Harris.

The American show creator Veena Sud received a lot of criticisms when the first season failed to resolve the mystery or answer the show's tagline questions, "Who killed Rosie Larsen?"

"We introduce the case and we solve it at the end of the season, so you don't have to have seen seasons 1 and 2 to jump in," confirmed Sud.

Hopefully all the changes will mean a better and more popular season for "The Killing."

Check out an inside look trailer for "The Killing" season 3 below: