A&E captured record viewership for Thursday night's premiere of its original series Beyond Scared Straight.
The series, based on the 1970's Emmy award-winning documentary Scared Straight!,
averaged 3.7 million viewers in its Jan. 13 debut, a network record for
a series premiere, according to A&E officials. The series, which
puts at-risk teens through intensive one-day in-prison sessions that
show them the unfiltered realities of life behind bars, also set records
among adults 18-49 (2.2 million viewers) and adults 25-54 (2.1
million.)
"We could not be more proud to have undertaken this
groundbreaking series and the audience response is extremely rewarding,"
said Bob DeBitetto, President and General Manager of A&E Network
and BIO Channel in a statement. "Beyond Scared Straight truly
exemplifies our unique brand of highly engaging programming with a focus
on excellent storytelling and first-class auspices."
The success
comes on the heels of strong performances by A&E original series
this week including the most-watched episode of the hit series Storage Wars, which garnered 2.8 million total viewers on Wednesday night (Jan. 12) and the Jan. 10 season finale of Hoarders, which drew 3.0 million total viewers.
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