Invasion! Crossover Pushes Legends of Tomorrow to Highest Ratings Ever

CBR

By Meagan Damore

Published Dec 2, 2016

Last night's episode - which was the conclusion to The CW's four-show crossover - drew in a record-breaking number of viewers for the show.

The Dominators weren't the only ones to invade the world of "DC's Legends of Tomorrow." Last night's episode -- which was the conclusion to The CW's big crossover between "Supergirl," "The Flash," "Arrow" and "Legends" -- drew in a record-breaking number of viewers for the show, propelling it to its highest ratings ever.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the final installment of "Invasion!" drew 3.33m viewers, with a 1.0/4 rating in the adults 18-34 demographic, while it tied for its second highest rating ever in adults 18-49 (a 1.1/4 rating). As such, the show saw its best ratings in the adults 18-49 demo since "Pilot Part 2," its second episode, aired on January 28. What's more, "Legends" achieved its highest rated episode ever in men 18-34 (1.2/6) and tied for its best rating in men 18-49 (1.4/5).

Thanks to "Invasion!", "Legends" was up a whopping +80% in overall viewership. Broken down, the show saw an increase of +67% in adults 18-34 and +83% in adults 18-49. This pushed the series into the #3 spot for the hour, beating out both ABC and Fox, particularly in the adults 18-49 demographic. Additionally, this gave The CW a five year high in the hour for total viewers, its first since November 3, 2011. In adults 18-34, it was The CW's two year high since December 11, 2014.

"Legends'" "Invasion!" episode was The CW's most watched Thursday night since October 11, 2012 as well as its highest rated Thursday in adults 18-34 (0.8/3) in two and a half years. What's more, The CW hit its highest rated Thursday in adults 18-49 since January 28.

"Legends" wasn't The CW's only DCTV show to hit new heights in ratings. "Arrow," "The Flash" and "Supergirl" all hit season high ratings thanks to the "Invasion!" crossover, with a particularly strong jump in the adults 18-34 and adults 18-49 demographics.

The “Arrow”-verse crossover saw Supergirl join the Flash, Green Arrow, the Legends of Tomorrow and their friends in order to stop an alien invasion. With them, she faced down the Dominators, mind-controlling aliens who have grown so concerned about Earth’s metahuman threat that they have decided to stomp it out before it can reach the stars.

Airing Thursdays at 8 pm ET/PT on The CW, "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" stars Arthur Darvill as Rip Hunter, Brandon Routh as the Atom, Victor Garber and Franz Drameh as Firestorm, Caity Lotz as White Canary, Maisie Richardson-Seller as Vixen, Dominic Purcell as Heatwave and Nick Zano as Citizen Steel.