TNT’s new drama The Last Ship cruised to a strong start with the Nielsens on Sunday night, drawing 5.3 million viewers for its 9 p.m. premiere.
That audience now stands as this year’s top cable debut, easily eclipsing the mark set by another TNT launch with Murder in the First. Adding in another 2.1 million for its 11 p.m. encore, the Michael Bay-produced, pandemic virus drama pulled in 7.4 million viewers on its maiden night, based on Nielsen live+ same-day data.
Among key demos, Last Ship drew 1.7 million adults 25 to 54 and 1.5 million adults 18 to 49 for its premiere, before tacking on another 900,000 and 800,000 with the respective groups, via its encore airing.
Despite leading out of Last Ship, Falling Skies fell in its fourth-season bow to 3.7 million total viewers at 10 p.m., down 12% from last summer’s two-hour premiere. With a midnight replay, Falling Skies notched 4.2 million total viewers.
