The first season of The Chosen launched on The CW Sunday night with solid ratings, doubling the previous week's time slot and easily outpacing some of the network's most popular shows.
The Chosen, Season 1, debuted with 522,000 viewers for a .08 rating, which is more than double what Gotham Knights (.04, 235,000) and Superman and Lois (.04, 174,000) drew the previous Sunday during the same time, according to data at SpoilerTV.com. It's also double the numbers for the same slot two weeks earlier, June 2.
The numbers for the Bible-based series are impressive, especially considering The Chosen is already available on multiple other platforms – and for free.
TVLine.com called it "a far mightier audience than, say, Riverdale, Nancy Drew and The Rising have been averaging this summer."
The July 12 episodes of Nancy Drew and Riverdale attracted 433,000 and 209,000 viewers, respectively. The July 17 episode of The Rising drew 332,000 viewers, according to SpoilerTV.
It is the first time a broadcast TV network has aired an entire season of The Chosen. The CW is an over-the-air broadcast channel that covers virtually 100 percent of the United States.
"The Chosen is based on the biggest IP of all time and is truly a one-of-a-kind series that tells this historically significant story in a captivating, dramatic and premium way," Brad Schwartz, president of entertainment for The CW Network, previously said. "This show has already connected deeply with viewers around the world, and The CW will expand its audience even further."
The CW will air the first three seasons, with the Season 3 finale airing on Christmas Eve. (Season 4 is currently in production.)
Dallas Jenkins, creator and director of The Chosen, previously said that Schwartz "loves and respects The Chosen, so we know it'll be in great hands."
Photo courtesy: ©Angel Studios/The Chosen, used with permission.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
