The BBC celebrated the start of the new year by launching the fourth season of The Traitors and bringing back The Night Manager for its second season after ten years.
The premiere of The Traitors attracted an impressive average of 6.4 million viewers, with numbers peaking at nearly 7 million. These figures are comparable to the series’ recent celebrity special and significantly higher than the previous season’s debut.
The new episode introduced viewers to a fresh group of contestants and featured several surprising elements, including a mysterious red cloak. It captivated more than one-third of the UK television audience at that time.
This season’s premiere has set a new high for the opening viewership numbers of The Traitors series, solidifying its status as a dominant franchise. The celebrity edition that concluded recently was a major success, outperforming the regular editions, with comedian Alan Carr winning the top prize. The fourth season of the American edition is set to premiere on Peacock in just six days.
Following The Traitors, the BBC aired the much-anticipated second season of The Night Manager, exactly ten years after its first season. This episode drew 3.3 million viewers, peaking at 3.8 million, making it the fifth most-watched program of the day. Although these figures may seem modest, they are expected to increase significantly as more viewers catch up on the series via iPlayer.
The Night Manager, starring Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, and Camila Morrone, is based on the novel by John le Carré. The series is set to debut on Prime Video in the U.S. in two weeks.
In comparison, the previous season of The Night Manager premiered to double the viewership of the latest season, with 6 million people tuning in overnight on BBC One in 2016. That season was among the biggest hits of the year. However, this was before the widespread proliferation of streaming services, with Netflix being the main option available at the time.
Daniel Hayes is a business journalist with a focus on market trends, startups, and corporate strategies.
His sharp analysis and investigative reports make complex financial topics accessible to all readers.
