New York, NY – Friday, June 1, 2018 – BBC AMERICA’s fan and critical favorite Killing Eve capped its first season with an unbroken record of weekly ratings growth in the key adults 25-54 and 18-49 demos – something no other show on television has accomplished in more than a decade. The finale delivered series highs with 1.25 million viewers in Nielsen live+3 ratings, up 86 percent from premiere, with 545,000 adults 25-54 and 378,000 adults 18-49, up 127 percent and 100 percent from premiere, respectively. The season finale was also the #1 most social drama of the day.
Following the premiere episode, which was made available to viewers unauthenticated, Killing Eve has also grown every week on BBCA’s digital platforms and now ranks as the network’s #1 digital series ever with more than one million full episode views to date. The premiere has also become the most watched digital episode in network history.
“From the very start, we felt we had something smart, exciting and different with Killing Eve, and hoped viewers would see what we saw,” said Sarah Barnett, president of BBC AMERICA. “Thanks to Phoebe, Sandra, Jodie and everyone else who brought this series to life. Shows like Killing Eve not only engage and entertain, they create vibrant and passionate fandoms, and that has certainly been the case here. Thanks to the truly remarkable Killing Eve fans, both for spreading the word about the series and for how vocal and creative they’ve been in expressing their love for this show.”
“I’m ecstatic to hear Eve and Villanelle have been keeping people up at night,” remarked Showrunner and Executive Producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge. “Thank you to everyone who watched our show and passed it on to others. It’s everything we could have hoped for. Every department put their all into making this show, and we’re all buzzing with excitement about the love it’s getting.”
“It’s so fantastic that in this TV age of binge watching and being inundated with so much content that Killing Eve fans have grown the audience the tried and true way of word of mouth and are watching it weekly,” remarked series star and associate producer Sandra Oh. “Watching how it’s grown so organically, the old school way – is extremely satisfying. I thank our fun and twisted audience.”
“I’m thrilled that the audience is as obsessed as I am with Villanelle and Killing Eve,” said series star Jodie Comer. “It’s been incredible to see how fans have embraced this show, from their tweets to their unbelievable fan art.”
Killing Eve has already been renewed for a second season. Viewers can watch all eight episodes on demand on BBCAmerica.com and on the BBCA app.
Starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, Killing Eve centers on two women; Eve (Oh) is a bored, whip-smart, pay-grade MI5 security officer whose desk-bound job doesn’t fulfill her fantasies of being a spy. Villanelle (Comer) is a mercurial, talented killer who clings to the luxuries her violent job affords her. Penned by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) and based on the novellas by Luke Jennings, Killing Eve follows these two women, equally obsessed with each other, as they go head to head in an epic game of cat and mouse.
Killing Eve was commissioned in 2016 for BBC AMERICA by President and GM Sarah Barnett, and Nena Rodrigue, EVP of Original Programming, Acquisitions and Production; executive produced by Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris and Phoebe Waller-Bridge who also served as head writer and showrunner for the series. Colin Wratten is an executive producer and Sarah Oh is an associate producer. The series is produced by Sid Gentle Films Ltd and distributed by Endeavor Content.
BBC AMERICA is a hub of innovative, culturally contagious programming including the critically acclaimed series Killing Eve from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the Emmy® and IDA-winning Planet Earth II, the acclaimed Planet Earth: Blue Planet II, and the forthcoming next chapter in the epic story of our planet, Dynasty (w/t), the top-rated science-fiction phenomenon Doctor Who, the ground-breaking unscripted series Top Gear, the buzzy and hilarious The Graham Norton Show, as well as Premier League Darts. A joint venture between BBC Studios (the commercial arm of the BBC) and AMC Networks, BBCA’s influential shows such as Orphan Black and Luther, among many others, have attracted critical acclaim and earned Emmy® Awards, Peabody Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards and Golden Globes®. Created in 1998, the irrepressible network has garnered one of cable’s most curious, educated and affluent audiences, with many properties boasting super-fan levels of engagement. Get caught up, BBCA offers full episodes On Demand across all major digital platforms, BBC AMERICA app and bbcamerica.com. Find out more by visiting press.bbcamerica.com.
Source:
Nielsen, Live+3, Killing Eve S1. Record Growth: Nielsen, L+3, 2007-TD, Scripted Series (min 5 eps), A18-49 & A25-54. Social: Nielsen Social Content Ratings, 5/27/18, Linear Drama Series.
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