The verdict is in on FOX’s latest midseason entry, and it’s a hit.
FOX announced Monday morning that Accused Season 1 Episode 1 dominated with its bow on Sunday night.
The new drama ranked as #1 rated and most-watched debut on any broadcast or cable network in three years (since 9-1-1 Lone Star; excluding post-Super Bowl).
The premiere managed a 2.0 Live + Same Day rating among Adults 18-49 and 8.4 million viewers in Nielsen’s time-zone adjusted Fasties.
Accused is also the highest-rated scripted telecast of the season to date across broadcast and cable in Live + Same Day (ahead of Yellowstone‘s season 5 premiere).
FOX has this season’s #1 series (Accused) and the top two drama debuts of the 22/23 season with Accused and Alert: MPU in A18-49.
Accused is a “collection of 15 intense, topical and exquisitely human stories of crime and punishment,” according to the logline.
Each episode is a fast-paced provocative thriller, exploring a different crime, in a different city, with an entirely original cast.
Based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning crime anthology, “each episode opens in a courtroom on the defendant, with viewers knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial.”
“Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, the show holds a mirror up to current times with evocative and emotional stories.”
“In the end, audiences will discover how an ordinary person gets caught up in extraordinary circumstances, and how one impulsive decision can impact the course of that life – and the lives of others — forever,” the logline concludes.
The series secured an all-star cast for its first season, with big names including Michael Chiklis, Abigail Breslin, Whitney Cummings, Margo Martindale, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Wendell Pierce, Rachel Bilson, Jack Davenport, and Molly Parker.
The Accused Season 1 cast is rounded out with Rhea Perlman, Betsy Brandt, Keith Carradine, Aisha Dee, and Jason Ritter.
Directors include Billy Porter, Marlee Matlin, Tazbah Chavez, and Michael Chiklis.
New episodes air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on FOX, out of 9-1-1: Lone Star.
Check out the trailer below.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.