In Depth
Showtime’s ‘Call Girl’ Opens to Record Numbers
Showtime turned a nifty ratings trick Monday, with new half-hour “Secret Diary of a Call Girl” premiering to record numbers.
“Call Girl” attracted 949,000 paying customers in its first run Monday, outranking every other series premiere in the three decade-plus history of Showtime. The previous record holder at the network was “The L Word,” which drew 936,000 viewers when it bowed.
The strong tune-in for “Call Girl” represents the latest triumph for Bob Greenblatt, the Showtime entertainment president who has launched hits such as “Dexter,” “The Tudors” and “Californication.”
It’s also a victory for former HBO chief Chris Albrecht. Now at IMG, Mr. Albrecht was responsible for selling “Call Girl”—an already-produced British series from IMG and Tiger Aspect—to Showtime.
“Call Girl” was given a big leg up by its lead-in, the fourth-season premiere of established Showtime smash “Weeds.” The latter series attracted 1.35 million viewers in its 10 p.m. run Monday, a stunning 65 percent rise over the show’s third-season premiere. It was also the single highest-rated telecast on Showtime since 2004, when Nielsen began reporting ratings for individual Showtime channels.
Showtime has already ordered a second season of “Call Girl.”
Updated: Premiere day. June 18, 12:59 a.m.
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Comments 2
Phil K
Shows how ar down we've come...then again, this combination of drugs and promiscuity souns a lot like the '60s, only on those days it wasn't on TV...
perhaps the end of the world is at hand, after all.
sara
this show is pretty great, and got me interested in researching real call girls. i stumbled on these stories that show a slightly different take on the issue. check them out - its a little more real than the show.
http://earfl.com/groups/235