This Is Us' pet-named "Crock-Pot episode" inspired both sadness and controversy, and it caused some fans to abandon their slow cooker appliances altogether. The tear-jerking episode has also been a huge success for NBC, as "That'll Be The Day" raked in some of the series' best ratings to date. Overall, several series ratings wins were celebrated after the episode's Live+3 delayed viewing numbers were tallied, revealing a whopping 5.38 million viewers played catch-up after Tuesday's airing, which was the biggest record-breaker of them all.
A lot of people were watching This Is Us in the days following the initial airing for "That'll Be the Day," and those numbers translated to it becoming the series' most-watched episode to date for delayed views, with the 5.38 million addition bringing the total viewership to around 14.76 million fans. Additionally, the jump in the demo ratings (for adults aged 18-49) was a 1.91 and gave the episode a new rating of 4.46, which comes close to its series high of a 4.47 rating.
What's more, this is the biggest Live+3 day lift for any television show since April 2, 2017, when The Walking Dead earned the honor with its Season 7 finale, "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life." Lastly, This Is Us also set the record for its highest three-day digital demo rating with a 1.29, which not only tops what many hit shows earn during live airings, but it also handily stomps the show's previous digital demo rating record of 1.12.
Prior to all this good news, This Is Us' highest-rated episode was the Season 2 installment "Still There." That one featured some big This Is Us reveals as well, although none as big as the events that will lead to Jack Pearson's death. "That'll Be The Day" was one of the most buzzed-about episodes of either season, and the Crock-Pot controversy only aided in helping Jack's death completely dominate pop culture headlines. Given how traumatic "That'll Be The Day" was for This Is Us' diehard fans, it's no surprise so many other people rushed to check out the episode after its airing.
It's not clear whether or not these viewers are old just fans catching up or new viewers getting hooked, but it does appear that this boost is good news for This Is Us' soul-crushing next episode, which is set to air after the Super Bowl. If ratings are reaching record-highs now, one would imagine they'll soon be toppled by the larger mass audience sticking around after the big game to see what the hype is all about. Jack's death likely won't mean as much for newcomers as it will to hardcore fans of the series, so fans should remember that before angrily strangling any goobers at Super Bowl party who make light of the Pearson patriarch's passing.
This Is Us typically airs Tuesday nights on NBC at 9:00 p.m. ET, but a special episode will air following the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 4. For more on the series and Jack Pearson's upcoming demise, check out our predictions for the ways that depression-inducing event could go down. For a list of shows premiering in 2018 that may also be worth a watch, head on over to our midseason premiere guide.
