The “Abbott Elementary” Season 4 premiere jumped to reach 6.19 million viewers in its first week of viewing, TheWrap can reveal exclusively.
After the Oct. 9 premiere episode initially drew in a live-plus-same-day viewership of 2.13 million, viewership nearly tripled after a week of viewing across ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms. The episode has now seen a 191% uptick in total viewers, according to Nielsen live-plus-seven-day multiplatform viewing figures.
Ratings for the Season 4 debut of “Abbott Elementary” also rose 486% from its initial 0.37 rating in the key broadcast demo among adults 18-49. After a week of viewing across platforms, the Season 4 premiere scored a 2.17 rating.
With its 2.17 live-plus-seven-day rating, the Season 4 premiere of “Abbott Elementary” scored the show’s highest rated multiplatform telecast in the key demo since the show’s post-Oscars episode in March, which featured Bradley Cooper as a guest star.
When compared to the Season 3 finale in May, which scored a rating of 2.0 in the key demo, the Season 4 premiere of the ABC sitcom saw a 9% increase in ratings.
For reference, the Season 3 premiere in February scored a live-plus-three-day viewership of 5.91 million and a 1.84 rating across ABC, Hulu and other digital platforms, which, at the time, marked the biggest multiplatform premiere viewership the show had ever seen.
Picking up a couple months after the Season 3 finale saw Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) kiss following several false starts to a potential relationship, the Season 4 premiere sees Janine and Gregory as an established couple as they attempted to keep their relationship under wraps from other teachers at the school.
“We spent as long as humanly possible getting them together without annoying people,” EP and co-showrunner Patrick Schumacker told TheWrap. “But now that they are together, they’re together. There’s not a credible threat or anything to their relationship. We want to spend time with them as a real, solid couple.”
In addition to an “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” crossover set to air sometime this season, this week’s episode will see Janine get a budget for class pets, while Melissa is resistant to taking on the added work and responsibility for her room’s guinea pig, according to the official logline for Season 4 Episode 2.
“Abbott Elementary” is produced by Warner Bros. Television.
“Abbott Elementary” premieres Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.
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