An emotional telling of Pepper’s backstory–including how she transitioned from the “Freak Show” to the “Asylum” featured in season two–Wednesday’s “American Horror Story” received strong marks from critics.
It, unfortunately, demonstrated no immunity from the ongoing viewership bleed.
For the first time since the January 23, 2013 “Asylum” finale, the audience total fell short of the three million mark. Wednesday’s episode, which is the final “AHS” episode of 2014, commanded a viewership average of only 2.99 million. Down from the 3.07 million drawn by the previous installment, it represents the third consecutive season low mark drawn by a “Freak Show” episode.
The show’s 1.5 adults 18-49 rating matches that drawn by last week’s telecast.
Over the past few weeks, interest in “Freak Show” has fallen considerably from the level it reached during the “Coven” season. Still hotter than those of “Asylum,” its recent adults 18-49 ratings, meanwhile, no longer maintain an advantage over those drawn by corresponding episodes from the inaugural “Murder House” season.