Goosed by an aggressive ad campaign and strong critical response, FX’s “The Americans” got off to a strong ratings start on Wednesday (January 30) night.
In a confusingly timed premiere airing that ran from 10 p.m. to 11:38 p.m., the ’80s-set spy drama drew 3.22 million total viewers, including 1.57 million viewers among adults 18-49. Those numbers exceed the overall premiere audience for “American Horror Story” (3.18 million) and the 18-49 premiere for “Sons of Anarchy” (1.55 million).
If you want to slice the ratings pie very thin, FX notes that the “Americans” premiere drew 407,000 male viewers aged 18-34, topping the broadcast networks in that very specific demo. [If you’re really slicing up numbers, it’s only fair to mention that the second season finale of Discovery’s “Moonshiners” actually drew 3.87 million viewers and ranked as the top cable show for the night among adults 18-49 and in a slew of other demos.]
The first encore telecast for “The Americans” began at 11:38 and added an additional 1.01 million total viewers, including 643,000 viewers among adults 18-49. One additional encore started at 1:14 a.m. and added 470,000 viewers including 319,000 adults 18-49.
For the three premiere night/morning airings, “The Americans” totaled 4.7 million total viewers, with 2.54 million in the key 18-49 demographic.
“We”re very happy with premiere ratings for ‘The Americans’ and, just as importantly, we”re proud of the widespread critical acclaim the show has received,” blurbs John Landgraf, President and General Manager, FX. “We have no doubt that when we get the Live+7 time-shifted ratings from last night, ‘The Americans’ will rank among the best series debuts ever on FX. We”re grateful to Executive Producers Joe Weisberg, Joel Fields, Graham Yost, and to our outstanding cast led by Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys and Noah Emmerich, as well as the entire team behind this great show.”
Although there’s still one thrilling night to go, FX is calling January 2013 the highest rated month in its 18-year-history, with the network hitting highs in nearly every relevant demo.