KJ Apa, Camila Mendes in Riverdale | Dean Buscher/The CW
The first season of The CW’s “Riverdale” generated considerable buzz.
That buzz evidently fueled big interest in the second season.
Wednesday’s second season premiere set new series highs in adults 18-49 and overall viewership.
According to fast national data posted by Showbuzz, the episode drew a 0.8 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 2.31 million overall numbers.
Both numbers easily rank as the best ever posted by a “Riverdale” episode. The previous highs, both set by the series premiere, were a 0.5 in the demo and 1.38 million in overall viewership.
— “Riverdale” led into the series premiere of “Dynasty,” which drew a 0.4 rating and 1.34 million overall viewers.
Considering the lead-in, the connection to a classic TV franchise and the “curiosity boost” that usually helps new series, the performance is disappointing.