The “Matlock” Season 2 premiere tallied up an impressive delayed audience that rivaled its first installment’s average viewership, TheWrap can reveal exclusively.
The Oct. 12 sneak peek of CBS’ Kathy Bates-led series, which was followed up with the Season 3 premiere of “Elsbeth,” brought in 11.9 million multiplatform viewers after one week of viewing, according Nielsen big data plus panel viewing data. That’s up 2% from the 11.7 million viewers averaged by “Matlock’s” first installment.
After “Matlock” debuted from 8:30-9:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 12, the sneak peek of “Elsbeth” Season 3, which aired from 9:30-10:30 p.m. ET, drew a similarly impressive seven-day audience. The premiere episode of “Elsbeth” scored over 9.2 million multiplatform viewers after a week of viewing, marking a 4% uptick from its Season 2 average viewership of 8.8 million viewers.
With “Matlock” and “Elsbeth” debuting earlier than their CBS counterparts, the two drama series are the only CBS series whose seven-day multiplatform viewing data is currently available.
The strong ratings aren’t surprising for “Matlock,” whose Season 1 premiere ratings were promising enough for CBS to grant it a Season 2 renewal after just two episodes. After scoring an initial live-plus-same-day linear viewership of 7.74 million on CBS alone, the series premiere of “Matlock” grew its audience by 38% in three days of multiplatform viewing to reach 10.67 million viewers.
“Matlock” kept the ratings momentum growing throughout its first season, joining Justin Hartley’s “Tracker” as the network’s two most-watched series by December, and closed out its first season as the No. 1 new broadcast series and No. 2 broadcast series.
“Elsbeth” cemented its place as the No. 2 most-watched new broadcast series with an average 7.45 million seven-day viewers across its debut season, with its finale reaching a live-plus-seven-day total viewership of 7.54 million.
After the sneak peek, “Matlock” and “Elsbeth” will now air in their regularly scheduled Thursday time slots on CBS, with “Matlock” airing at 9 p.m. ET/PT while “Elsbeth” airs at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
