Bravo! and CTV’s new international co-production THE BORGIAS premiered last night to 575,000 viewers last night, the largest audience on Bravo! for a television series since 2004, and Bravo!’s most-watched original Canadian production of all time. It’s the fourth most-watched broadcast on Bravo! in the network’s history. In total, more than 1.3 million viewers sampled the two-hour television event, which peaked with 742,000 viewers.
THE BORGIAS was also the most-watched non-sports specialty program Sunday night, besting the premiere of WIPEOUT CANADA (TVtropolis; 510,000). Up 65% from any other telecast on Bravo! this year, the premiere also delivered four-and-half times as many viewers at 10 p.m. – 12 a.m. ET respectively compared to Bravo! season-to-date timeslot averages.
In the U.S., THE BORGIAS premiere also performed strong. It was SHOWTIME’s largest audience for a new drama in seven years with 1.06 million viewers, just nearly double the audience than in Canada, and more than 22% higher than their premiere of THE TUDORS.
In next week’s episode of THE BORGIAS (April 10 at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo!), when Rodrigo’s (Jeremy Irons) coffers are depleted by his expensive rise to power, he seeks funds through a profitable marriage for Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) that will ally him with Milan. Sensing another opportunity, he charges a fee for safe haven in Rome to Jews displaced by the Spanish Inquisition. Meanwhile, the Borgias host a charming Turkish prince and Micheletto (Sean Harris, Brighton Rock) is ordered to rid his patrons of the ongoing threat posed by Della Rovere (Colm Feore).
THE BORGIAS is produced by Take 5 Productions in association with Bravo!, CTV and Showtime Networks.
