Fox has renewed its dramas “Accused” and “alert: Missing Persons Unit” for sophomore seasons, to air in 2023-24, Fox Entertainment’s president of scripted programming, Michael Thorn announced on Thursday.
Hailing from Howard Gordon, “Accused” opened on a season high note as television’s highest-rated drama debut in two years. In its Jan. 22 premiere, the show registered a 2.5 Live + 35 Day rating and 14.6 multi-platform viewers. To date, the show averages 7.5 million multi-platform viewers, up +126% from its Live + Same Day delivery. “Accused” is based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning series of the same name.
“With ‘Accused,’ Howard Gordon has taken the crime anthology to new heights and acclaim, featuring an all-star roster of directors and talent headlining gripping episodes that entertain viewers with a provocative, fresh take on many of the most relevant, timely issues of our day,” said Thorn in a statement.
In its Jan. 8 debut, “alert” recorded 8.5 million multi-platform viewers, a lift of 112% from Live +Same Day figures. Its 6.7 million multi-platform first season average also represents an increase of 154% from Live + Same day numbers. Scott Caan, Dania Ramirez, Adeola Role and Ryan Broussard star in the series, which comes from co-creators and executive producers John Eisendrath and Jamie Foxx.
“Scott, Dania, John and Jamie have done an incredible job launching alert and bringing its story into heart-pounding focus, giving us an emotionally intense procedural drama that’s primed for even more success as Carla takes the day-to-day reins, continuing the great work we’ve seen this season.”
In addition to the news, Carla Kettner (“The Blacklist,” “Bones”) will join the series for Season 2 and serve as showrunner. Both “Accused” and “alert” are co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment. Their pick-ups follow Fox’s recent renewal of “The Cleaning Lady” for a third season.
“We are excited to continue our long partnership with Fox to bring more Accused and alert to audiences around the world,” said Katherine Pope, president of Sony Pictures Television. “It’s wonderful to see these timely, poignant stories resonating with viewers, and we want to congratulate the writers, producers, cast and crew on their success. We are incredibly proud of their collective work and look forward to seeing where these series go next!”
