Surprise, surprise! Hannah finally dumping Luke P. on The Bachelorette brought the show some amazing ratings Monday night. Not only did the showdown between Hannah and Luke help ABC win the night, but it also led to some other great gains for The Bachelorette and the network.
ABC's powerhouse combo of The Bachelorette and Grand Hotel dominated the night, with the also-rans at NBC, American Ninja Warrior and Dateline, coming in second with 4.3 million total viewers against ABC's 5.5 million. This was a win of 23% more total viewers for ABC and 63% in the key demo of adults 18-49, with ABC owning a 1.3 rating and 7 share over NBC's 0.8 rating and 4 share. Beyond that, the one-two punch actually helped ABC post its strongest Monday numbers with summer entertainment programming.
News was also good for The Bachelorette because of Hannah and Luke's long-awaited confrontation. The dating show topped the night and was number one in total viewers and adults 18-49 with 6.4 million viewers and a 1.7 rating and 8 share in the key demo. It also bested American Ninja Warrior by 1.9 million viewers and by 89% in the key demo.
But wait! There's more! The Bachelorette also managed to improve for its second week straight in total viewers, adding 7% more eyeballs over the previous week, and adding 13% in the key demo. This means that The Bachelorette hit new season highs on both accounts Monday night. And, it also grew by 8% in total viewers and 21% in the demo over last year's Bachelorette episode which featured the fantasy suite dates.
Phew! That's pretty good, right? You can bet that ABC figured they'd have a winner on their hands with the episode that aired Monday, though. For one thing, not only did it finally (finally) show Hannah deciding to kick season-long pain in the ass Luke to the curb during their dinner date, but it offered up the sex-shaming conversation that's been teased pretty much all season long.
So, why did Hannah feel sex shamed by Luke during dinner? Well, the difficult dude decided to have a serious conversation with her about sex, and how he'd want to leave if he found out that Hannah had sex with any (or all) of her three other remaining suitors. After Hannah gave him a piece of her mind (many times) and Luke kept digging himself deeper while also trying to backtrack when he saw that she was truly, deeply pissed beyond repair with him, she told Luke she did not want him to be her husband and escorted him out.
This walk to Luke's final Bachelorette car ride just kept him talking and trying to convince Hannah not to let him go. When he has the nerve to tell Hannah that he "doesn't care" about her saying she finally has clarity where their relationship is concerned because something is just stopping him from getting in the car, we get one of the other hotly teased moments of the season. Oh, yes, friends. This was when Hannah revealed that she "had sex, and Jesus still loves me." Preach, Alabama Hannah!
Also, this was the episode when she actually had her Bachelorette sex (In a windmill! Twice!), so there was all that joy to behold, as well.
As we know, there's nothing like a little controversy to stoke ratings, and The Bachelorette milked Hannah's sex chat with Luke (and, yes, her windmill sex) for all it was worth and it did, indeed, work. You can keep up with all the continued drama as Hannah tries to pick her person when The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST.
