FX’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” has never been a ratings monster, but it has occasionally shown the ability to draw strong numbers for an edgy cable comedy. This Thursday’s premiere was not one of those showings.
The eighth season premiere posted a very disappointing 0.6 adults 18-49 rating with 1.05 million viewers, down drastically from the 1.4 rating and 2.28 million viewer average for the season seven premiere.
Unlike last season, this episode did have to deal with the Vice Presidential debates, the MLB playoffs and regular season NFL action (though the game between the Steelers and Titans was a fairly low-profile one), but it is unlikely those factors, alone, explain the massive drop in the ratings.
If they do, next week’s episode should have no problem jumping right back into the 1.2+ range.
“Sunny” lead-out “The League” posted a 0.6 rating with 907,000 viewers at 10:31PM.
