‘Bonnie & Clyde’ delivers solid ratings for History, Lifetime, and A&E upon debut

The great news for “Bonnie & Clyde“? When you put the numbers together, the first part of the miniseries on Sunday night averaged some of the best totals out of any scripted program on the night. The bad news? It took a full three networks to get it there.

Overall, 9.8 million viewers had an opportunity to catch the special starring Emile Hirsch across History, A&E, and also Lifetime. The viewership was spread pretty evenly throughout, with History getting the largest audience with close to 4 million people watching. It was nowhere near the viewer totals pulled in by “The Bible” or “Hatfields & McCoys,” though, even when those miniseries aired on just the History channel. Nonetheless, not every single one of these products they put out is going to be a guaranteed hit, and these are still totals that the trio of networks have to be happy with.

The second half of the miniseries is going to air tonight at 9:00 p.m., where it should fare around the same in the ratings. When you remember that there is only one other major competitor on the air at 9:00 in the “Sleepy Hollow” winter finale, there’s not that much competition that will take away from it. Luckily for the show, “The Blacklist” is no longer on for the fall, and “The Voice” tonight is only an hour long.

Miniseries have become hot on cable ever since the arrival of “Hatfields & McCoys,” with some major networks trying to do everything in their power to also get in on the game. We’re going to see more of these play out in the months ahead from some other major networks, whether it be HBO or NBC.

Did you watch the first part of “Bonnie & Clyde” on Sunday night, and do you personally believe that there is the potential for History to make a number of these miniseries with similar results? Share what you think below! Also, click here to see our interview with Lane Garrison, who goes in-depth when it comes to his time filming the project.

Photo: History