FX's new drama The Americans drew 3.22 million total
viewers to its 10 p.m. series premiere on Wednesday, according to Nielsen, just
topping the 3.18 million viewers who watched the debut of American Horror
Story, FX's last drama launch, in 2011.
The premiere episode, which ran from 10-11:38 p.m., also
delivered 1.57 million adults 18-49, below thetwo million demo viewers for AHS. Combined with its two encore
telecasts, The Americans netted 4.7 million total viewers and 2.54
million adults 18-49.
"We're very happy with premiere ratings for The Americans
and, just as importantly, we're proud of the widespread critical acclaim the
show has received," said John Landgraf, president and general manager,
FX. "We have no doubt that when we get the Live+7 time-shifted ratings
from last night, The Americans will rank among the best series debuts
ever on FX."
The Americans stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as
KGB agents living undercover in the U.S. in the 1980s. Joe Weisberg, Joel
Fields and Graham Yost are the executive producers.
