Grimm Stars David Giuntoli and Bitsie Tulloch (Photo: Michael Muller/NBC)
As we mentioned last week, the shot-in-Portland supernatural crime drama Grimm returned to NBC last night in a new time slot aimed at capturing the audience drawn to the network’s coverage of the 2012 Olympics.
While fans of the series have raved about the quality of Season 2′s debut, the ratings for Monday’s premiere have yielded mixed reviews. While Entertainment Weekly focused on the negative (writer James Hibberd points out that the show’s 5.7 million viewers was slightly lower than the series premiere in 2011,) TV By The Numbers points out that the same 5.7 million viewers represent the show’s second-highest rating ever (though still below expectations.) The Hollywood Reporter also viewed the numbers as a positive, noting that they represent a 25% gain over the last episode of season 1.
These early numbers only paint part of the story, of course. As we’ve previously reported, Grimm’s ratings have a history of rising when “timeshifted” viewing on DVR and On-Demand services are taken into account (in fact, the show is listed as the “Most Engaging” on television by ratings service Neilson.) We’re looking forward to seeing the full ratings for Season 2′s premiere, and seeing how they affect NBC’s confidence in the shot-in-Portland (and set-in-Portland) series.
Interesting reporting – thanks. (But of course the ratings will increase when DVR is taken into account, right?) I’ll have to read the “Most Engaging” list article as well – sounds revealing.