The numbers are in and FOX’s revival of ‘The X-Files’ is a bigger hit than anyone suspected. It’s actually a bigger hit than the original series it’s based on!
The premier episode scored a whopping 7.8 rating for adults 18-49 and once DVR playbacks are factored in, had 21.4 million viewers. That makes this airing the highest rated show of the season behind the season six premier of AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ and FOX’s other massive hit ‘Empire’.
These numbers are actually higher than the best ratings of the original run of ‘The X-Files’. For the record, the show’s highest ratings were during the 1997-98 fifth season, which averaged 19.8 million viewers. The 21.4 million viewers of the new premier includes DVR playbacks and 1.1 million streaming views. Of course neither of those things existed back in 1997, so the comparison is skewed. Even so, this premier ranked 24% higher in the desirable 18-49 demographic than the series finale of the original run.
The ratings remained strong for the second episode which aired during the show’s regular time slot, Monday at 8pm.
There are only four more episodes of this run, but should ratings hold strong, it wouldn’t be surprising for FOX to bring the show back in a more permanent capacity.
The current miniseries was crafted on the contingency that series creator Chris Carter and stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson all returned, but the addition of Lauren Ambrose and Robbie Amell as new agents could potentially open the door for a new version of the ‘X-Files’ that centers on these new characters. But will audiences embrace the show without its two stars? Perhaps we’ll have to see how the remaining four episodes play out.
Are you enjoying the revival of ‘The X-Files’? Would you like to see it return as an ongoing series with or without Duchovny and Anderson?
Source: Entertainment Weekly
