TV Ratings: ‘Yellowstone’ Stays Strong in Week 2, ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ Premieres to 2.6 Million Viewers (Variety)
The Taylor Sheridan universe within MTV Entertainment is looking bright. “Mayor of Kingstown,” the latest drama series from the “Yellowstone” creator, debuted on Sunday to 2.6 million viewers with a simulcast on Paramount Network and Paramount Plus.
“Yellowstone” has been riding a high since its Season 4 premiere earlier this month. Paramount Network on Sunday delivered 7.49 million viewers for the drama’s second episode episode, while the live-plus-7 rating encompassing seven days of delayed viewing pushed total viewership of “Yellowstone’s” Nov. 7 premiere to 11.24 million, up from 8.38 million, a triumph in the linear TV landscape these days.
“Mayor of Kingstown,” which stars Jeremy Renner and revolves around the for-profit prison industry, premiered as the No. 1 original scripted drama since the rebrand of Paramount Plus in March. “Mayor of Kingstown” will have two simulcast airings on the Paramount Network and Paramount Plus before shifting exclusively to Paramount Plus as of Nov. 28.
Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of MTV Entertainment, explained that Paramount Plus was banking on “Mayor of Kingstown” using “Yellowstone’s” momentum in linear as a launchpad to boost its visibility on the streamer.
“The testing was through the roof leading up to the series, so we felt really good and confident about Taylor delivering only what Taylor can for us,” McCarthy said. “And the numbers really show that. It is kind of astounding to see a new series at this stage get those numbers. When ‘Yellowstone’ premiered in 2018, people didn’t think it was going to get as big today, but we knew. I’m excited because what you have here is the beginning of another massive hit.”
When accounting for both its premiere and encore broadcasts, “Mayor of Kingstown’s” debut attracted 3.2 million viewers across the night.
“The beauty of having a show go massive right out the launch is that it really frees up our marketing resources to target brand new audiences,” McCarthy added. “On our own platforms, we’ve really honed in on bringing the ‘Yellowstone’ audience for ‘Mayor,’ and I also think that our incredible marketing team did a fantastic job in bringing brand new shows to this genre, and of course, Jeremy Renner’s existing fans. It was that combination that has made the show the number one original scripted series since the rebranding of Paramount Plus.”
McCarthy believes that this is the start of a Taylor Sheridan dynasty of shows that has a lot of room to grow at the network.
“Mayor of Kingstown” also stars Dianne Wiest, Hugh Dillon, Pha’rez Lass, Tobi Bamtefa, Emma Laird, Derek Webster and Taylor Handley. Sheridan co-created the series with Dillon. Both are executive producers alongside Renner, Antoine Fuqua, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari and Michael Friedman.
“Mayor of Kingstown” is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios.
—By Mónica Marie Zorrilla (Variety)
https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/tv-ratings-yellowstone-stays-strong-in-week-2-mayor-of-kingstown-premieres-to-2-6-million-viewers-1235113173/