There were high expectations for Joss Whedon’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to open big and the new series definitely lived up to the hype on Tuesday night…
ABC has invested a lot of time and money into Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to make sure The Avengers crossover is a massive success, and based on the first night ratings all the hard work paid off.
Led by Avengers‘ writer and director Joss Whedon, the new show debuted on Tuesday night at 8pm to a huge audience — the largest for a drama in four years.
According to the preliminary Nielsen results released on Wednesday, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. debuted to 11.9 million viewers with a 4.6 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic. The show won across the board in terms of landing the key demographic beating out NBC’s The Blacklist, Fox’s Sleepy Hollow and CBS’ Hostages as well.
The ratings mark makes Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. the largest debut for a drama since 2009 when V debuted on ABC.
As the season moves forward Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will likely settle into ratings that are slightly lower, as all shows tend to do, but with the crossover appeal with upcoming Marvel films including Thor: The Dark World, and the show marketing to all age groups, it’s expected to be a ratings winner all season long.
The next episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will debut next Tuesday at 8pm ET/PT on ABC.
