The fastest growing drama on television right now is a series that first aired 55 years ago. Jodie Whittaker‘s debut as the Thirteenth Doctor in the series 11 premiere of Doctor Who broke the glass ceiling in more than one way. “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” (read our review) garnered viewers far and wide for 48% growth over the series ten premiere with 2.6 million total viewers (including the primetime special and same day encores) on BBC America. To put that into perspective: those numbers more than double those of Peter Capaldi’s final episode and top the debuts of both David Tennant and Matt Smith, the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors respectively.
And on BBC One? Whittaker’s debut claimed 8.2 million viewers.
On top of that, the episode was ranked as number one in its time slot across all of cable. The Thirteenth Doctor’s arrival drove a lot of buzz on social media, too; it was the most talked about show with 93% positive sentiment according to BBC America. It’s worth noting the premiere episode aired outside of its usual time slot because it was part of a worldwide simulcast at 1:45pm ET; the episode even aired at the same time to a crowd of hundreds in Madison Square Garden during New York Comic Con. Future episodes of Doctor Who series 11 will air on Sundays at 8pm ET/PT.
Did you watch the Thirteenth Doctor’s debut? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Images: BBC
Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy (pre-order it on Amazon). She’d kill for a closet that’s like a TARDIS. Follow her on Twitter.
