It took a while but Krapopolis, Fox’s new animated series, performed well in its opening.
Fox said that the Sunday night premiere of the Dan Harmon-created series delivered a 1.2 Live+ Same Day rating among adults 18-49 and 3.6M total viewers.
The network said that this made it the most-watched animation series to debut over the past decade and Rick and Morty co-creator Harmon’s most-watched animated series telecast ever.
Krapopolis was helped by Fox airing it after a Sunday NFL game that not only saw the Kansas City Chiefs blow out the Chicago Bears, but a game that saw Taylor Swift make headlines for turning up to support her new friend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Fox added that it became the number one original comedy telecast of 2023, beating the debut of the Night Court reboot and the number one entertainment program among adults 18-49 for the week of September 19.
While this marked the first time in 25 years an animation series debut was the week’s highest-rated entertainment program, since Family Guy’s series debut in 1999, it was also helped by being the only new show on the air as a result of the writers and actors strikes.
The comedy, which is set in mythical ancient Greece, stars the voice talent of Hannah Waddingham, Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Pam Murphy and Duncan Trussell. It moves to its regular timeslot as part of Fox’s Animation Domination block that also includes The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy on October 1.
Fox’s President of Entertainment Michael Thorn told Deadline that it “feels like a moment” for the network, in terms of animation.
Created and exec produced by Rick and Morty co-creator Harmon, the series is produced by Fox’s Bento Box Entertainment. Jordan Young serves as showrunner and exec producer for the first season.
It has renewed through Season 3.
