‘The People v. O.J. Simpson’ Sets Scripted Premiere Record on FX

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The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story was the most-watched original scripted series premiere in FX’s 22-year history, the network said. The premiere episode Feb. 2, with a pair of encores, drew 12 million total viewers on a live-plus-3 basis, and 6.1 million in adults 18-49.

The first-run showing posted 8.3 million total viewers and 4.2 million adults 18-49. With that, it beat the series premieres of The Shield (3.0 million) and American Horror Story: Murder House (2.8 million) among adults 18-49; and outdelivered the series premiere of The Shield and Justified (both 4.8 million) in total viewers.

Related: FX’s ‘People v. O.J.’ Draws Auto Sponsors

The People v. O.J. Simpson returns Feb. 9. The limited series is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions. 

Executive Producers are Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski and Brad Falchuk; the cast includes John Travolta, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Sarah Paulson.

Michael Malone
Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.