The Following may have found one: Kevin Bacon’s Fox thriller premiered to 10.4 million viewers on Monday, making it the most-watched episode of any scripted series this season on the network. More important, among Fox’s target audience of adults under 50, The Following averaged a 3.1 rating. That ties it with CBS’s Elementary as the second highest-rated drama debut of the season (both are behind NBC’s Revolution, which has gotten a massive boost by airing behind The Voice). Another good sign for The Following: Its audience ticked up at the half-hour, perhaps indicating viewers weren’t totally grossed out by the show’s intensely creepy and often violent vibe. Of course, it’s still early: A year ago this January, Fox debuted Alcatraz in the same time slot, drawing nearly as many viewers and actually earning a slightly higher rating (3.3) in Fox’s key demo. Ratings quickly fell, however, and the show didn’t make it to a second season. For now, however, Fox’s winter is off to a much better start than its awful autumn.
