NBC ORDERS SECOND SEASON FOR DAVID DUCHOVNY DRAMA ‘AQUARIUS’

Strong Digital Performance Is Key in Bringing Back Well-Reviewed Series

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — June 25, 2015 — NBC has given a second-season renewal for its 1960’s-themed drama “Aquarius,” starring David Duchovny as an LAPD cop on the hunt for Charles Manson, it was announced today by Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment.

The critically acclaimed drama made TV history in May as the first broadcast series to be streamed in its entirety following its debut, with NBC making all 12 “Aquarius” episodes available online for the four weeks following its intial NBC telecast.

Salke commented, “With its riveting drama and innovative release strategy, ‘Aquarius’ has excited the critics, hooked millions of viewers and energized our summer. It’s no secret that the way people watch television is evolving, so we took a unique approach to how we delivered ‘Aquarius’ and it’s driven some record numbers for NBC Digital and helped us reach viewers who might have otherwise overlooked a great summer drama.”

Added Robert Hayes, Executive Vice President of NBC Entertainment Digital, “Beyond generating some truly impressive view totals, the network’s unique release strategy with ‘Aquarius’ has helped us gain new insights into viewership patterns, binging behavior and social engagement, significantly expanding our knowledge of how people are watching our shows online.”

Reviewing “Aquarius,” which has been nominated for a Critic’s Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series, the New York Times wrote, “Unusual choices can be found throughout ‘Aquarius,’ and they are part of what makes this drama so good.”  Matt Roush at TV Guide added, “I took the 13-hour deep dive, emerging entertained, unsettled, and wanting more…a sardonic treat…”  And Variety said “Aquarius” “…Kick(s) off summer with a provocative, cable-like gamble.”

“Aquarius” delivered the most-watched first 24 hours for a summer series premiere ever on NBC.com and the NBC App.  With the surge in viewership generated by “Aquarius,” NBC Digital (NBC.com, the NBC app and Hulu) went on to log its biggest summer weekend ever.

Through 28 days, it’s the #2 most-viewed drama premiere ever on NBC.com and the NBC App, behind only “The Blacklist.”

Social media has seen a surge of viewers asking for season two of “Aquarius,” with that steady stream of requests starting the morning after of the show’s digital premiere.

NBC broadcasts of “Aquarius” are averaging a 1.2 rating in adults 18-49 and 5.8 million viewers overall in “most current” results from Nielsen Media Research.

Across all platforms, the May 28 premiere of “Aquarius” grew by +91% in the seven days after its linear debut in adults 18-49, from a 1.05 rating in “live plus same day” Nielsens for the NBC telecast to a 2.01 across all platforms after seven days. DVR time-shifting has also been substantial for “Aquarius,” with the series growing by an average of +31% in adult 18-49 rating going from its next-day “live plus same day” rating to its “live plus three day” results and by 1.1 million viewers overall.

“Aquarius” is also delivering an upscale audience, indexing at a 105 among adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes (with 100 representing an average concentration of those homes, “most current” including L+3).

“Aquarius” also stars Emma Dumont, Grey Damon, Gethin Anthony and Claire Holt.

Writer John McNamara (“In Plain Sight”) serves as executive producer with Marty Adelstein (“Prison Break”), David Duchovny and Melanie Greene. “Aquarius” is a production of Tomorrow Studios, a joint partnership between Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios.

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Lastly, USA has also officially renewed their award-winning and critically acclaimed new original series ‘Mr. Robot’; picking up the series for a second season yesterday ahead of its series premiere broadcast. You can read the press release detailing this announcement immediately below:

USA NETWORK’S AWARD-WINNING AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ORIGINAL DRAMA “MR. ROBOT” SCORES SECOND SEASON AHEAD OF SERIES PREMIERE

  

One of The Summer’s Most Talked-About New Series Hails From Universal Cable Productions

Nearly 3MM Viewers have checked Out The Pilot In Its Pre-linear Debut

  

NEW YORK – June 24, 2015 – USA Network today announced a second season pickup of the captivating one-hour original drama series MR. ROBOT, ahead of the series premiere tonight at 10/9c. This buzzy breakout series has already received significant critical acclaim, prestigious industry honors and has garnered nearly 3 million views in its unprecedented pre-linear launch across a wide array of digital platforms. The second season, which will include a minimum of 10 episodes, will air in 2016.

“We knew from the moment we read Sam Esmail’s provocative script, and witnessed the brilliant performances of Rami Malek and Christian Slater, that Mr. Robot is a stand-out series that is unlike anything currently on television,” said USA Network President Chris McCumber. “The overwhelmingly positive fan reactions to the pilot and the broad sampling of it, reaffirms our confidence in the series, and we’re excited to see where this timely drama will take us for season two.”

“Sam Esmail has captured and distilled our ongoing cultural conversation about identity, privacy, value and self-worth,” said Jeff Wachtel, President and Chief Content Officer, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment.  “We are all talking about the central themes of Mr. Robot – Sam has just done it in a completely original and uniquely compelling way.”

MR. ROBOT won over audiences at this year’s South By Southwest Festival in March, winning the coveted audience award in the Episodics category.  The series was also named an official selection of the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival in April.

 

To-date, more than 2.7MM viewers sampled the series pilot, which was available four weeks early as part of the network’s unique windowing strategy. Beginning May 27, USA made the pilot available via On Demand platforms including Xfinity On Demand, USANetwork.com, the USA Now App (iOS, Android, Xbox One), Hulu and YouTube, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, Vudu, XBOX Video, PlayStation Video, and M-GO. The pilot was also available via Twitch, IMDb, EW.com, THR.com, Telemundo.com, Terra.com, Latina.com, The Verge.com and 22 sites within the Crave Online.

MR. ROBOT follows Elliot (Malek), a young programmer who works as a cyber-security engineer by day and as a vigilante hacker by night.  Elliot finds himself at a crossroads when the mysterious leader (Slater) of an underground hacker group recruits him to destroy the firm he is paid to protect.  Compelled by his personal beliefs, Elliot struggles to resist the chance to take down the multinational CEOs he believes are running (and ruining) the world.  The series also stars Portia Doubleday (“Her”), Carly Chaikin (“Suburgatory”) and Martin Wallström (“Simple Simon).

 

From Universal Cable Productions, MR. ROBOT is from writer and executive producer Sam Esmail (“Comet”) and executive producers Anonymous Content’s Steve Golin (“True Detective”) and Chad Hamilton (“Breakup at a Wedding”).

 

About USA Network

USA Network, the leader in cable entertainment, offers a powerful stable of dramatic, comedic and unscripted originals in more than 102 million U.S. homes.  The network also features spectacular live television, a dynamic portfolio of acquired series and the best in blockbuster theatrical films and entertainment events.  A trailblazer in digital innovation and storytelling, USA is defining, driving and setting the industry standard for Social TV.  USA is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal. USA’s award-winning website is located at http://www.usanetwork.com.

 

About Universal Cable Productions

Universal Cable Productions (UCP) creates innovative and critically acclaimed original scripted and digital content across media platforms for domestic and international distribution. UCP’s content library spans classics such as Emmy-award winning, “Monk,” and critic and fan favorites “Psych,” “Battlestar Galactica,” and “Warehouse 13.” In the U.S., UCP’s programming can be seen across various networks, including: “Dig,” “Playing House,” “Royal Pains,” “Satisfaction” and “Suits” on USA Network; “Ascension,” “Defiance,” “Dominion,” and “12 Monkeys” on Syfy; “Girlfriends’ Guide To Divorce” on Bravo; “Difficult People” on Hulu; “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome” on Machinima Prime/YouTube, Syfy and DVD/Blu-Ray; and “Side Effects” on Awesomeness TV/YouTube. Universal Cable Productions is a part of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. Follow us @UCPisTV.