It debuted in the UK on The History Channel some time ago, but controversial US miniseries The Kennedys finally arrived on terrestrial TV last night. BBC2's double-bill from 9 till 10.30pm attracted an impressive average of 2.6 million over its two episodes (2.47m for 9pm, 2.21m for 9.45pm). The BBC HD simulcast also lured 171,000 and 152,000 viewers.
It was a decent showing for a drama that's been heavily criticized (people clearly wanted to see for themselves), but it couldn't defeat a repeat of Miranda on BBC1 (3.51m), and the Lady Gaga special of ITV1's Paul O'Grady (3.38m). But it did entice more viewers than Channel 4's panel show hour of 8 Out Of 10 Cats (1.49m) and King Of... (1.2m), together with Channel 5's terrestrial premiere of US crime drama Castle (1.69m).
