Saturday’s “Doctor Who” 50th Anniversary Special earned BBC America its biggest audiences ever.
The global simulcast of “Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor,” which aired at 2:50 p.m. ET in the U.S., delivered BBC America its best telecast ever in live and same day viewing with 2.4 million total viewers and 1.2 million among its key demographic Adults 25-54.
Including the primetime encore, the 75-minute special delivered 3.6 million total viewers on Saturday.
Also read: ‘Doctor Who’ 50th Anniversary Special Watched by 10.2 Million Brits
It also broke several social media records. It was the No. 1 TV show on Twitter and the series set a record on Tumblr with the highest level of activity of any televised event ever, more than the Super Bowl and MTV’s Video Music Awards.
Screened in 3D cinemas in 11 cities, the special sold out every location.
“The fan response on-air, in social media and in theaters across the country has been nothing short of incredible,” said Perry Simon, BBC America’s general manager. “The 50th Anniversary of this extraordinary program has cemented its iconic status for millions of American viewers and we can’t wait for the Christmas Special.”
Also read: ‘Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor’ Recap: The Doctor’s New Mission (Video)
As TheWrap reported on Sunday, 10.6 million viewers watched the special in the UK, making it the second-most watched show on Saturday night in that country.
The worldwide broadcast also earned a Guinness World Record as “the world’s largest ever simulcast of a TV drama.”
On the world record, showrunner Steven Moffat said, “For years, the Doctor has been stopping everyone else from conquering the world. Now, just to show off, he’s gone and done it himself!”
The special starred current Doctor Matt Smith, 10th Doctor David Tennant and introduced the War Doctor played by John Hurt. They were joined by current companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) and former companion, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper).
See photos: 39 Spoiler-Tastic Images From the ‘Doctor Who’ 50th Anniversary Special
The special also included cameos from the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker and the upcoming 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi, who will replace Smith on the upcoming season.
The main foes were the iconic villains, a race of war-mongering robots called Daleks, and the Zygons, a shape-shifting race of aliens that first appeared in 1975 on the science fiction series.
BBC America didn’t just find success on Saturday with “Doctor Who.” Its season premiere of new fantasy drama, “Atlantis,” delivered the highest rated series premiere ever for its programming block, Supernatural Saturday, with 838,000 total viewers. From the creators of Merlin and Misfits, the 13-part series airs Saturdays at 9/8c.