By premiering it a week before NBC and CBS enter with their powerhouse Monday fare, FOX gave new series “Sleepy Hollow” a best case scenario for its debut.
Based on early ratings, it looks like “Sleepy” did a great job seizing the opportunity. Monday’s premiere garnered an impressive 3.5 adults 18-49 rating with 10.05 million viewers.
Up considerably from the bow for last year’s flop “The Mob Doctor” and from its “Bones” lead-in (2.2 rating, 7.53 million viewers), “Hollow” also narrowly edged “Dancing with the Stars” to emerge as the night’s top-rated broadcast series in adults 18-49.
Even if “Hollow” retains its entire premiere audience–and that is not a typical pattern–it is unlikely to repeat that demo victory once NBC’s “The Voice” and CBS’ comedy block return next week.
But for a debut series with a high-concept, “Sleepy Hollow” delivered exactly as FOX would have hoped.