“I Am Cait,” the reality series chronicling former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner’s life and transition to a woman, has been renewed for a second season, E! announced Thursday.
“Caitlyn’s story has ignited a global conversation on the transgender community on a scale that has never been seen before,” Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President of Programming and Development at E!, said in a statement. “We are honored Caitlyn has chosen to continue to share her ongoing story with our viewers around the world.”
The show’s highly anticipated series premiere — which pulled in 3.9 million total viewers and 2.3 million from the key 18-49 demographic — was the most-watched reality-show launch in the main demo across all of cable this year. However, by its season finale, “Cait” had slipped to 1.7 million total viewers, with 1 million from the main demo.
“I Am Cait” still currently ranks as the No. 6 new series across ad-supported cable this year, averaging 1.3 million viewers in the key 18-49 demographic. Among just women in that age group, “Cait” is a Top 5 show on all of cable. The same could be said for younger females, 18-34.
Plus, the show’s cultural reach has transcended its numbers. “I Am Cait” has been universally praised for its earnestness and the responsibility it took to properly educate viewers on trans issues as it followed star Caitlyn Jenner. But the series also faced criticism for a perceived insensitivity to trans men and women who lack fame and wealth.
The docuseries is produced by Bunim/Murray Productions, a company that has documented LGBT stories for more than 20 years. Jenner is an Executive Producer, and Gil Goldschein, Jeff Jenkins, Farnaz Farjam, Andrea Metz and Melissa Bidwell serve as Executive Producers for Bunim/Murray Productions.