‘Doctor Who’ And ‘Copper’ Achieve Record Ratings For BBC America

The Doctor is now in, and he’s mopping the floor with his competition, earning record ratings for BBC America.

Which Doctor, you ask? Technically we’re talking about the 11th Doctor, played to much critical acclaim by English actor Matt Smith, but the ratings spike is a win for the Doctor Who franchise as a whole. The season premiere of Doctor Who on Saturday set ratings records for BBC America, becoming the highest-rated and most-watched telecast ever in BBC America’s history.

The episode drew 1.6 million total viewers, with 723,000 of them falling within the key 25-54 demographic. Might not sound like much, since many American television shows sign their own death warrants with under 3 million average viewers, but it’s still a record for BBC America.

Another win for BBC America was the third episode of Copper, the network’s inaugural original series. Combined with Doctor Who, the third episode of Copper helped BBC America reach its highest-rated weekend of all time, pulling in slightly over 1 million viewers between its airing and later replay.

Copper has been a BBC America workhorse from the start. It tells the story of an Irish immigrant cop seeking justice in 1864 New York City. Its premiere episode (aired on August 19th) pulled in 1.8 million viewers, 859,000 of them in the 25-54 demographic between its initial airing and replays.

Do you watch BBC America? Are you a fan of Doctor Who or Copper?