With a solid debut from freshman series “Cristela” on Friday, ABC now has the Top 2 most-watched new comedy series debuts of the fall season.
Garnering 6.6 million viewers, “Cristela” came in second to the season’s most-watched new comedy, ABC’s “Black-ish” (10.8 million viewers on Wednesday, Sept. 24), according to preliminary numbers.
As for the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic, “Cristela” in the 8:30 p.m. timeslot earned a 1.3 rating/5 share.
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It ranked No. 1 in its half-hour among the broadcast networks and became the first comedy telecast in nearly two years, since Nov. 9, 2012, to improve on an original episode of “Last Man Standing” — “Cristela’s” lead-in — in the advertiser demo. “Cristela’s” rating saw an eight percent increase over “Last Man Standing’s” 1.2/5 rating.
Compared to new fall comedies on the other broadcast networks, “Cristela” rated better than Fox’s “Mulaney” premiere (1.0/3) on Sunday and NBC’s “A to Z” premiere (1.2/3) on Thursday, Oct. 2. It tied with NBC’s “Bad Judge” debut (1.3/3) on Thursday, Oct. 2.
Produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television, “Cristela” stars comedienne Cristela Alonzo, who also created the show and is a co-executive producer, as a woman who’s living with her mother and sister’s family while attending law school.
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It also features Carlos Ponce, Maria Canals-Barrera, Terri Hoyos, Andrew Leeds, Sam McMurray, Justine Lupe, Jacob Guenther and Isabella Day. Comedian Gabriel Iglesias (“The Fluffy Movie”) appears in a recurring role.