Despite buzz dwindling for its programs over the year, FX is still at the top of the cable TV game.
On Monday, FX announced that its "Sons of Anarchy" spin-off "Mayans MC" premiered with the best ratings of any new cable series this year. This comes as no surprise, considering "Sons of Anarchy," which began in 2008, was a huge hit for the cable network, and was instrumental for FX establishing itself as a home for prestige dramas, along with shows like "The Americans" and "Justified."
The "Mayans MC" premiere, which aired Tuesday, September 4, had an audience of 2.8 million adults 25-54, 2.5 million adults 18-49, and 1 million adults 18-34. Combined, these are higher than the "Sons of Anarchy" premiere numbers in 2008. "Mayans MC" was also the most-watched show the night it aired. 6.8 million total viewers have watched the premiere across linear and non-linear platforms.
ADVERTISEMENT
The episode was the most-watched drama series premiere on FX since 2016's "The People vs. OJ Simpson." And 19% of the premiere's viewers were Hispanic (the average for English-language cable scripted series is 10%).
With its record-breaking premiere, "Mayans MC" showed that despite the binge-watching revolution and the rise of streaming services like Netflix (and the cord cutters that have come with them), cable dramas still have a place in television, since there are plenty (literally millions) of people who will watch them live on air.
Critics, however, were less enthusiastic about "Mayans MC," giving it a 67% score on Rotten Tomatoes (it has an 81% audience score on the site.)
"Mayans MC" airs Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. on FX.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7scHLrJxnppdkr6p7056aoWekmrCpecWxqmarn6PAbrvFZpinmaKYtbp50qmgp2Wfm7NuucCymKerXaKwbrXSZquhnV2ivLTAjLCYrZuYmrFuusSwZJyZkqGybsDVZqqhp6diwLB7x3KvbW%2Barw%3D%3D