Supergirl hit the schedule last night. If you are a regular CBS watcher, you may not remember seeing the show on the schedule last night, but that's because Supergirl has moved to its new home on the CW. Changes like a move to a new network can sometimes be hard for a show to recover from, which is why we were so curious to see how Supergirl did in its Monday premiere. As it turns out, it crushed the timeslot, but certainly lost quite a few viewers since it ended its CBS run.
The numbers are in, and Supergirl brought in 3.3 million total viewers and a 1.1. rating. Considering the CW has had low-rated programs in the Monday night slot for quite some time, it's no real surprise that the network is calling these numbers a win. The numbers are the best the CW has seen in the 18-34 demographic in the timeslot in five years. Yes, five. It's also the most-watched episode in total viewers in nearly eight years. That's not too shabby.
It should be noted, however, that Supergirl's numbers are way down during its CW debut. The Season 1 premiere did 12.9 viewers and a 3.2 rating, although the show shed viewers quickly after the premiere---which is what led CBS to drop the show in the first place. Still, the Season 1 finale of the drama brought in 6.1 million total viewers and a 1.3 rating. While the CW premiere indicates the show kept most of its audience in the 18-49 demographic, it shed a lot of overall viewers.
The CW likely anticipated this, which is why production made a few big changes moving into Season 2. The biggest change was that production was moved to Vancouver, where the rest of the CW's DC superhero shows also film. Shooting there is cheaper, and also will allow the shows to have more crossovers with one another. In addition, the budget was trimmed down. One way the show inadvertently saved money was by signing on Calista Flockhart as a recurring character rather than a lead on the drama.
Supergirl was initially pretty expensive to produce, much of this due to its Los Angeles shooting location, and the premiere really seems to indicate that a smaller budget hasn't really messed with the quality of the show that much. The Season 2 premiere introduced us to Superman and an interesting new villain, and there's plenty of fun stuff the show should be able to explore on The CW, even if it doesn't share the same universe as the Arrow-verse.
New episodes of Supergirl air on the CW on Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET. To find out which shows have yet to premiere, check out our fall TV premiere schedule.
