DARE ME -- Pictured: (l-r) Taveeta Szymanowicz as Riri Curtis, Herizen Guardiola as Addy Hanlon -- (Photo by: Rafy/USA Network)
No, USA Network’s “Dare Me” did not deliver massive ratings for Sunday’s premiere.
It did, however, perform respectably by USA network standards.
According to live+same-day data posted by Showbuzz, Sunday’s premiere drew a 0.21 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 0.60 million overall viewers.
The numbers compare favorably to those for other USA scripted series. The episode actually outperformed every fourth season episode of former Sunday occupant “Mr. Robot” (which aired an hour earlier but also faced competition from the similarly skewing “Watchmen”). It also topped the adults 18-49 and viewership averages for recent USA Network launch “Treadstone,” while besting the viewership average (and nearly matching the demo rating) for season two of “The Purge.”
“Dare Me” notably had two factors working against its live+same-day performance — the rare, late-year launch and the fact that the premiere was available for streaming more than a week in advance.
On the other hand, the broadcast also received a substantial amount of hype. As such, it’s possible this week’s episode benefited from an unsustainable “curiosity boost” and will fall in the coming weeks.