TV Ratings: FX's 'The Americans' Suffers Week 2 Drop, Still Garners Record DVR Growth

3:07 PM PST 2/7/2013 by Michael O'Connell

10
16
0
0
0
Email
Print
Comments

The second outing for the Cold War drama sees a 39 percent drop in viewers and a demo score eclipsed by cable competitors "Moonshiners" and "Workaholics."

Keri Russell

The Americans hit a slightly steep setback in its second outing. The new FX Cold War drama, which pulled a sturdy 3.22 million viewers in its premiere episode, brought in just 1.97 million during Wednesday's follow-up.

TV Ratings: FX's 'The Americans' Opens With 3.2 Million, Topping Recent 'Horror Story'

The Americans: TV Review

That's a 39-percent drop for the cable series. And while it's typical for a drama to see a substantial dip in its second outing, the loss far outweighs the fall's week-two drop for American Horror Story (23 percent).

TV REVIEW: 'The Americans'

Among adults 18-49, The Americans' drop was less harsh (32 percent), falling from 1.57 million to 1.57 million. Direct cable competition from Discovery's Moonshiners and Comedy Central's Workaholics both eclipsed its demo showing rating.

In the series' defense, it had a considerably less formidable lead-in during week two, growing 67 percent from Tron: Legacy. (The Americans premiere grew only 43 percent from Tom Cruise vehicle Knight and Day.)

PHOTOS: Midseason 2013: TV's Newest Series

But there is some good news for the freshman drama: The Americans premiere posted record DVR growth for FX, rising 49 percent with adults 18-49 (1.57 million to 2.34 million) and 44 percent with total viewers (3.22 million to 4.63 million) in Live+Three Day.

The Americans is now on track to easily top Justified (4.94 million total viewers) as the most-watched premiere in FX history once Live+Seven Day returns come in.