Don’t mess with Bonnie & Clyde! The numbers are in and the first part of the A+E miniseries secured itself 9.8 million viewers spread out over the three networks that aired the TV movie. Of A&E, Lifetime and History, it was History that came out on top though not by a drastic margin. The second part of Bonnie & Clyde will air tonight.
A+E cites Nielsen Research for the numbers Bonnie & Clyde took in last night, stating that the 2-part miniseries’ first part earned 9.8 million Total Viewers and 4.2 million Adults 25-54 viewers during its simulcast on Lifetime, A&E and History at 9:00 p.m. ET Sunday night. Deadline says History led the simulcast viewership with 3.7 million viewers. Lifetime brought in 3.1 million and A&E took in an even 3 million. So it seems it was pretty evenly divided, with History edging out the other two by a small margin. And speaking of History, as Deadline notes, the numbers fell short of what Hatfields & McCoys (13.9 million) and The Bible (13.1 million) earned for their openers. Still, 9.8 million is nothing to cry about for a cable miniseries. In fact, A+E points out that, excluding Hatfields & McCoys and The Bible, Bonnie & Clyde is cable’s best miniseries opening among Total Viewers since Broken Trail in 2006.
If you didn’t catch the first part of Bonnie & Clyde, rest assured, you’re not out of luck. Part 1 of the miniseries will air tonight at 7:00 p.m. EST on Lifetime, History and A&E ahead of the debut of Part 2, which airs at 9:00 p.m. EST on all three mentioned channels. It'll be interesting to see how Part 2 does.
Executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, Bonnie & Clyde tells the story of outlaws Bonnie Parker (Holliday Grainger) and Clyde Barrow (Emile Hersch). Also among the cast are Holly Hunter, William Hurt, Sarah Hyland, Lane Garrison, Elizabeth Reaser and Austin Hebert. The first part introduces us Clyde when he's younger and eventually takes us into his adult years, when his path crosses with Bonnie's. A crime spree ensues, starting with small-time robberies and working their way up to much bigger bank heists. One of the things I liked most about the miniseries is its emphasis in trying to understand the motivations of the two leads. Though the miniseries grows increasingly violent as the story goes on, what kept me interested through the second part was trying to get into the heads of Bonnie & Clyde and understand why they’re risking their lives, beyond the obvious cash prize. If you enjoyed Part 1, be sure to tune in tonight for the second and final part of Bonnie & Clyde.
