It seems America is ready to rally around a “Tyrant.”
The series premiere of FX’s new drama “Tyrant,” which aired Tuesday night at 10 p.m., drew a robust viewership, averaging 2.1 million total viewers, according to preliminary numbers.
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In the 18-49 demographic most sought by advertisers, the “Tyrant” premiere drew 775,000 viewers.
Across multiple airings, the premiere of the series which follows a doctor living in America who gets caught up in Middle East turmoil when he travels to a relative’s wedding, had 3.46 million total viewers, with a 1.32 in the demo.
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Compared to FX’s April series premiere of the Coen Brothers’ “Fargo,” “Tyrant” fell a bit short. That premiere had 2.65 million total viewers, with 1.02 million in the demo.
It was also off from last July’s series premiere of “The Bridge,” which drew a little over 3 million total viewers; and the January 2013 series premiere of “The Americans,” which raked in 3.2 million total viewers.
One silver lining for “Tyrant” — FX’s dramas have shown strong growth in Live + 3 Day ratings, with the “Fargo” premiere jumping 68 percent with three additional days of viewing taken into account, and the “Bridge” premiere jumping 53 percent in Live + 3.
The 82-minute premiere, which aired from 10 to 11:22, also kept its audience’s attention; “Tyrant” retained 99 percent of its demo viewers from the first half hour to the final 22 minutes, and 96 percent of its total viewers.