Jennifer Carpenter’s new TV debut The Enemy Within premiered this week on NBC and while it wasn’t splashy in its overall ratings, it did at least win the demo during its premiere hour. The show hit the schedule on Monday night at 10 p.m. ET and did better than fellow competitors Bull and The Good Doctor—at least in the 18-49 advertising demographic.
The numbers are in and The Enemy Within did, well, OK. The show aired to 5.77 million total viewers in Live+ Same Day numbers, fewer than the 6.3 million who watched The Good Doctor and the 6.7 million who tuned in for Bull. In the 18-49 demo, The Enemy Within fared better, pulling in a 1.2 rating, a number that put it ahead of its competitors.
Ratings tend to change after premiere week. A lot of times they will actually drop as people who tuned in for the premiere either view premieres as more appointment viewing or decide a show may not be worth investing in every week. Rare shows, however, will improve after their first week on the air. (Think about Empire’s first season, for example.)
Elsewhere across the night, NBC did have the highest rated series. The Voice totally kicked butt, doing a 2.1 rating and 10.75 million total viewers from 8-10 p.m. ET. ABC’s The Bachelor also fared well at 8 p.m., doing a 1.8 rating and 6.7 million total viewers, per TV by the Numbers. Both shows did better in overall viewers and the demo than other network fare on Monday night, but it should be noted both shows benefit from that 8 p.m. timeslot as well.
The fact that The Enemy Within lost so much of the audience from its big The Voice lead-in may not bode excessively well. Previously, Manifest was airing after The Voice, but that show wrapped up with its Season 1 finale on February 18. While Manifest started strong, a renewal for that show is not guaranteed.
Following Dexter, Jennifer Carpenter signed on to CBS’ Limitless, a TV series based on the popular movie that even involved Bradley Cooper. It seemed like it would be a big win for the network and did end up being on the bubble ratings-wise; however, it was canceled at the end of its first season in 2016.
Jennifer Carpenter took her time picking and choosing her next big TV project, ultimately settling on The Enemy Within. The show was picked up for the 2018-2019 TV season and we’ll have to wait and see how it fares in the weeks to come on NBC.
NBC spent a lot of time promoting the new series, which follows Jennifer Carpenter as the former director of the FBI who traded secrets to save the life of her daughter. Previously, Jennifer Carpenter has spoken out about the differences in creating a series for cable and then network TV, talking about her new role versus the one on Dexter.
Catch it on Monday nights following The Voice, only on NBC.
