Emmy wins for “Homeland” and reports of creative revitalization for “Dexter” contributed to Showtime’s biggest Sunday night ever.
“Dexter” started Sunday (September 30) with 2.4 million viewers in its initial 9 p.m. airing and 3.04 million viewers for the night. The “Dexter” premiere was up by 10 percent over the Season 6 premiere, continuing the show’s run of premiere-to-premiere audience bumps. It also comfortably passed the “Shameless” finale as Showtime’s top telecast of the year.
The sixth season of “Dexter” averaged nearly 5.5 million total viewers — including all platforms — per week, with 65 percent of the audience coming after the initial airing.
“Homeland,” meanwhile. drew 1.73 million viewers in its first airing, up by a whopping 60 percent over the 1.08 million viewers who watched the Season 1 premiere in its first premiering airing, and up a hair over the 1.7 million who watched the finale.
Including its subsequent encore, “Homeland” drew 2.07 million viewers in its premiere night.
This makes “Homeland” the top returning Showtime series other than “Dexter.” And Showtime adds that of the 4.4 million viewers averaged by the first season, 71 percent watched outside of its premiere Sunday airing.