Perhaps as a sign that Doctor Who is still growing in the United States — or the notion that Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor is a lot more poplar than some would like you to believe — the most recent season of the show was the highest rated yet for BBC America.
(And, yes, Capaldi is brilliant.)
Here’s a press release with more details:
BBC AMERICA’S DOCTOR WHO FINISHES 2014 WITH HIGHEST RATED SEASON EVER
Doctor Who: Last Christmas Delivers Over 2.3 Million Viewers on Christmas Day
Peter Capaldi’s first season saw the Doctor coming face-to-face with Missy, AKA The Master, and teaming up with Santa in the scary festive specialNew York – January 5, 2015 – BBC AMERICA’s Doctor Who finishes the year with its highest rated season ever on BBC AMERICA, plus the annual Christmas Special delivered over 2.3 million Total Viewers and was the #1 non-sports telecast in all of cable during the time period among Adults 25-54 in Live+3.
Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman and guest star Nick Frost (The World’s End, Shaun of the Dead) strapped in for a dangerous sleigh ride through space and time in Doctor Who: Last Christmas, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Paul Wilmshurst.
The Christmas Day special (9:00pm-10:25pm) delivered 2.312 million Total Viewers and 1.304 million A25-54 in Live+3. The special totaled 2.616 million Total Viewers in Live+3 – combining the 9:00pm premiere with the 11:45pm and 2:30am replays. The Twelfth Doctor’s first Christmas special more than doubled the viewership of the Eleventh Doctor’s first Christmas special, A Christmas Carol in 2010. BBC AMERICA was the #1 network on Twitter and Tumblr and Doctor Who: Last Christmas was the #1 show on both platforms in all of television in Primetime (excluding sports) on December 25. Doctor Who is pacing as one of Twitter’s top 10 most-tweeted original dramas in all of cable for 2014.
Peter Capaldi’s first season as the Doctor, with co-star Jenna Coleman as Clara, delivered BBC AMERICA its highest rated season ever with an average of 2.035 million Total Viewers in Live+3. The season featured Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink and Michelle Gomez as Missy. Guest stars included Jemma Redgrave, Frank Skinner, Foxes, Tom Riley, Keeley Hawes and more. Steven Moffat is lead writer and executive producer and Brian Minchin is executive producer.
Doctor Who: Last Christmas arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on February 17, 2015 and Doctor Who: The Complete Eighth Series is available now.
Looking ahead in 2015, Doctor Who returns with a full season starring Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman on BBC AMERICA along with new seasons of Orphan Black, Broadchurch, The Musketeers, Ripper Street and new dramas Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, London Spy and Tatau.
