All told, the July 10 series premiere has taken in 5.07 million viewers. That figure, Nielsen's Live+Seven Day returns, marks a 67 percent jump from the original haul of 3.04 million viewers. Both figures just trail The Americans as FX's biggest launch to date.
The Bridge ranks as the No. 1 new scripted cable series launch of the summer among adults 18-49. Season one is averaging 3.65 million total viewers and 1.68 million among adults 18-49. When adding DVR numbers, the series jumps 89 percent in total viewers and 105 percent in the demo compared with Live+Same Day.
Abroad, it has fared even better, recently launching to 3 million consolidated viewers in 19 metered pay TV markets and on track to bring in a total 4.5 million viewers.
The Bridge, an adaptation of international hit Bron, came to FX from Shine America and FX Productions. It hails from Homeland writer/executive producer Meredith Stiehm and Hawaii Five-0 producer Elwood Reid and revolves around two detectives, one from the U.S. (Diane Kruger) and one from Mexico (Demian Bichir), who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the border.
That serial killer storyline will conclude with the current 13-episode freshman season. Stiehm and Reid recently said that the upcoming finale will act as a launch pad for the sophomore run -- though they won't be taking on a serial killer per season model. Season two will return in summer 2014.
“We’ve been blown away by the compelling performances of Demian Bichir and Diane Kruger and the writing of Meredith Stiehm, Elwood Reid and their team, and are thrilled to be able to continue this journey for another season,” said FX president of original programming Eric Schrier. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Rich Ross, Carolyn Bernstein and everyone at Shine America.”
Added Shine America CEO Rich Ross: "We’re thrilled that viewers and critics alike have embraced Sonya Cross and Marco Ruiz and that our partners at FX are enthusiastically joining us for a continuation of the wild ride in season two."
