On its new home at ABC, 9-1-1 is blazing the airwaves. After three days of availability on ABC, Hulu, and other digital platforms, the season seven premiere, which honored the disaster thriller The Poseidon Adventure, has garnered 8.85 million viewers, according to Deadline.
Compared to the 4.93M viewers for live same-day, that represents a nearly 80% increase. The episode is officially the most watched multi-platform episode of the show since November 8, 2022, which was roughly halfway through season six. Season six was the last season to air on Fox.
Disney and Deadline report that 2.4 million viewers watched the 9-1-1 premiere on those platforms, setting a new record for viewership. One day after season seven premiered on Hulu, on March 15th, the series had its highest-ever streaming day with 1.6 million hours watched.
The ABC drama achieved its highest-rated telecast in almost two years, since May 16, 2022, with 1.84 views among the 18-49 demographic, according to Deadline.
On March 14, the 9-1-1 season seven premiere drew 4.93 million viewers, a marginal increase over the 4.8 million viewers of the season six premiere.
Before moving to ABC, 9-1-1 aired on Fox for six seasons, according to Deadline. The program was the highest rated on the previous network, so the numbers on the current network move to ABC are not shocking. With Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19, two shows that perform well for the Disney-owned network, particularly Grey’s, it fit right into ABC’s Thursday schedule.
First responders in Los Angeles, including police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and dispatchers, are the focus of this series, which was created by Ryan Murphy (American Horror Stories, Mr.Harrigan’s Phone), Brad Falchuk (The Politician, Pose), and Tim Minear (The Chicago Code, Ratched). Currently starring in the show are Kenneth Choi (Counterpart, Snowfall), Aisha Hinds (The American Society Of Magical Negroes, The Next Three Days), Peter Krause (Saint Judy, Parenthood), Oliver Stark (Hard Tide, Venus vs. Mars), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Heartbreakers, I Know What You Did Last Summer), Ryan Guzman (Everybody Wants Some!!, The Cleansing Hour), Angela Bassett (Strange Days, Contact), Corinne Massiah (Pitch, Adventures In Love & Babysitting), and Gavin McHugh (9-1-1).
The return of 9-1-1 to ABC comes after Murphy’s reunion with Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden (Family Guy, The Glee Project), according to Deadline. Murphy had recently visited his former studio, 20th Television, which is now a part of Disney TV Studios, where he produced the show.