It’s a good week for Ryan Murphy. The highly anticipated season 2 of American Crime Story airs tomorrow and FOX has just renewed his procedural 9-1-1 for season 2.
The debut episode of the series has drawn more than 15 million viewers in seven-day multi-platform viewing for FOX’s largest premiere since Empire in 2015, excluding post-Super Bowl premieres, according to the network. In Nielsen Live + 7, the show drew 10.7 million viewers, up 57% from L+SD. On social media, 9-1-1 is this season’s No. 1 new broadcast drama series and the most engaging new broadcast program on YouTube, with more than nine million views.
The success of the series continued with episode two which delivered a three-day multi-platform audience of 11.6 million viewers, including its encore. The show posted a 2.5/9 L3 rating in adults 18-49, up 67% vs. L+SD, tying Modern Family as the night’s No. 1 program for the second consecutive week, while also winning the 9-10 PM hour. Also worth noting is that its live viewing is also pretty solid and it’s outpacing its lead-in, The X-Files, by a considerable margin. Last week’s second episode drew a 1.5 demo rating during its live broadcast while The X-Files only managed a 1.0.
The drama explores the high-pressure experiences of police officers, firefighters and emergency operators who are thrust into the most heart-stopping of situations. These first responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives. The series stars Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Connie Britton, Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds and Rockmond Dunbar.
The renewal shows that some networks see there is more to a series’ success than just live viewing. The show has proven to be sampled on various platforms and that is why it’s earning the early renewal after only two episodes. An episode count for season two has not been unveiled at this time.
