The return of Pretty Little Liars last night with the search for Ashley Benson’s kidnapped Hanna in full swing as a 24-hour deadline, killing, some texts and an escape propelled the Freeform show. With all the action on-screen for the Season 7 debut of PPL, the I. Marlene King created series hit new premiere lows.
No longer topping cable as in past years, thanks to the Oprah-starring Greenleaf, Pretty Little Liars snared 1.42 million viewers and 847,000 among adults 18-49 for a 0.7 rating. That sees Tuesday’s ‘Tick-Tock, Bitches’ episode down 36% in the 18-49 demo from the Season 6 debut of June 2, 2015. Viewershipwise, PPL’s S7 opener fell 40% from its S6 opener – the previous low. This follows a trend of decline that we saw last year’s premiere, which was down 13% in viewership.
Compared to the PPL S6 ‘Welcome To The Dollhouse‘ finale of a very very competitive night of March 15 this year, the S7 debut was up 20% in overall viewers and up a tenth in the 18-49 demo. The seventh season of PPL has been rumored to be the last for the show with “the end” of the series “as you know it,” according to Freeform. However, both King and Freeform insist that no final decision has been made on the series’ fate.
Must Read Stories
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.