‘Breaking Amish’ sets records for TLC, beats ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’

Are “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” being replaced as a global phenomenon by some Amish people trying to create a new life for themselves in New York City? It may be debatable as to whether or not this is the case in the long-term, but one thing that we can say for certain is that “Breaking Amish” certainly seems to be winning the battle now.

Let’s just talk basic numbers here first. The season 1 finale for the show Sunday pulled in a 1.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic, and also a strong 3.8 million viewers. This is over 1.2 million viewers more than the Bravo reality series, and it is also stronger by a 0.5 rating in the demo. “Breaking Amish” also was the second-strongest cable show of the night only behind the monster known as “The Walking Dead,” and also defeated the likes of “Dexter,” “Homeland,” a “Walking Dead” repeat that still posted a 1.6, and NASCAR coverage over on ESPN.

Not only is this remarkable for a reality show that did not arrive with the same sort of fanfare as many others on TLC, but also consider this: “Breaking Amish” is now the most-popular freshman series ever for the network in women 18-34, households, and viewers. Even though “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” generated far more attention, its ratings were not even up to par with this series (though TLC was still happy enough with them to order more episodes, including some holiday specials).

Did you ever see the success of a show like “Breaking Amish” coming, especially when it comes to having such a knockout punch in the ratings?