'The People v. O.J. Simpson' Air Date, Review & Highlights: Premiere Sets FX Viewership Record - Recap of What You Missed

  • comments
  • print
  • email
Feb 04, 2016 06:00 AM EST

FX's miniseries "The People v. O.J. Simpson," the first installment in Ryan Murphy's "American Crime Story" project, sets FX viewership record during its premiere, Variety reports.

According to the news outlet, "The People v. O.J. Simpson's" ratings and number of viewers have made history. The series, which tackles the trial of former football star O.J. Simpson for the murder of Nicole Simpson 20 years ago. Variety reports that "The People v. O.J. Simpson" premiered with a whopping 5.11 million viewers.

E! Online says that "The People v. O.J. Simpson" has topped other FX shows premieres including "American Horror Story" Season 1 (3.2 million viewers and 1.6 rating), "The Americans" (3.2 million viewers and 1.2 rating), "Fargo" (2.7 million viewers and 0.8 rating) and "Sons of Anarchy" (2.5 million viewers and 1.2 rating).

In terms of rating, according to the news outlet, "The People v. O.J. Simpson's" key demographic are individuals aged between 18 and 49 years. Among these, the series had a 2.0 rating, which is higher than the aforementioned shows above.

"I think it's amazing. It's really amazing. I can't watch it the way most people do, to me it's reliving a nightmare," Marcia Clark, the former prosecutor of the high-profile murder case told "The View" as quoted by E! Online. Clark further said to watch the series again "hurts" because "every bit is awful."

Meanwhile, on the premier episode of "The People v. OJ Simpson," the show welcomes viewers with a recollection of what really happened 20 years ago in June. According to Rolling Stone, the lifeless body of Nicole was found when a dog walker sees the Simpson-Brown's family pet named Kato, stained in blood and barking at the family's house. After feeding the distraught dog, it leads them to Nicole's home, where they found the crime scene.

Yahoo! TV says that the episode showed how prosecutor Clark entered the picture to piece what happened and ensured that O.J. would be found guilty. The premier episode also showed how everything points out to O.J. -- from pieces of evidence, witness accounts and lie detector tests.

The premier episode of "The People v. O.J. Simpson" also revealed how O.J. hid and almost attempted suicide in Kim Kardashian's bedroom while hiding in his good friend Robert Kardashian's house. This was before O.J. fled south in a Bronco with a gun and no plan.

Indiewire says that the premier episode was all about introducing key characters that would soon play a greater role in the story such as Christopher Darden.

Many things are yet to unfold in the next episodes of "The People v. O.J. Simpson," which airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.

Join the Conversation
Real Time Analytics