Paramount has announced that the Sunday night premiere of Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” prequel series “1923” pulled in approximately 7.4 million viewers across linear telecasts and streaming.
This marks the biggest debut ever for Paramount+ and the #1 new cable premiere of the year on linear. The figure comes from both a combination of Nielsen data and Paramount’s own streaming data.
“1923” surpassed the previous record by nearly 80% and eclipsed the debuts of the likes of “Halo” and Sheridan’s other series like “Tulsa King” and “1883”. The numbers include the Paramount Network live broadcast plus two encores and a run on CMT.
To give you a comparison of the numbers, the premiere of “Yellowstone” in 2018 was viewed by 2.8 million people on the Paramount Network, whereas the recent fifth season premiere of that show pulled in 10.3 million viewers.
The series stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren and introduces a new generation of the Dutton family, and explores the early twentieth century when pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression all plague the mountain west and the Duttons who call it home.
Chris McCarthy, President/CEO Paramount Media Networks & MTV Entertainment Studios says: “Taylor Sheridan continues to tap a cultural nerve that has proven irresistible to viewers from across the country and around the world, with this newest installment showing no signs of slowing down – proving yet again the power of our franchise strategy to fuel the future of Paramount+.”
Darren Mann, Michelle Randolph, James Badge Dale, Marley Shelton, Brian Geraghty, Aminah Nieves, and Jerome Flynn co-star in the series, which will consist of two eight-episode seasons.
Source: Paramount+