‘Monarch’ Becomes No. 1 Scripted Debut of 2022 With 5.3 Million Combined Viewers

FOX’s highly anticipated new series Monarch made waves with its Sunday night episode, becoming the No. 1 scripted debut of 2022.

The musical drama, starring Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon (“Feud,” “Thelma & Louise”), multi-Platinum country music star Trace Adkins (“Old Henry”) and Golden Globe nominee Anna Friel (“Pushing Daisies”), tells the tale of a leading Texas family in country music. After two runs on Sunday night, Monarch was considered “well-above” any other scripted releases that have previously debuted this year.

“From its inception, this show and the authenticity of its characters resonated within the country music community. It has always been important to keep that realness and musical credibility for the show, while also creating an over-the-top story for the Roman Family,” reflects executive producer Jason Owen. “I’m so excited to see that the public desire for mainstream country music representation is as strong as it is, and I can’t wait for everyone to continue watching this series unfold. The music, the fun, the drama gets better and crazier in every episode. This is just the beginning!”

Including the debut at 7:45 p.m. ET and its encore immediately after, Monarch ranked highest among all drama debuts of 2022 by 33% – sitting next to HBO’s House of the Dragon. The two airings brought in a whopping 5.3 million viewers combined. In addition, the new drama was dubbed as FOX’s most-watched Fall scripted debut in three years, following Prodigal Son, with 3.8 million viewers. 

One of the factors that makes the show so special is the music and Arista Records/Monument Records, the official music partner of “Monarch,” recently released the first EP that holds the show’s impressive tracks – including songs from the episode’s premiere. 

The original track “The Brambles,” performed by the Monarch Cast, as well as covers of country classics including “Family Tradition,” “Good Hearted Woman,” and “How Do I Live,” are all included on this project.

Produced by three-time GRAMMY Award nominee and series executive music producer Adam Anders, the songs were co-produced by Peer Åström with the EP’s original track, “The Brambles” penned by Adam Anders, Tom Douglas and Jordan Shellhart. 

Listen to the EP here. 

The second episode of  Monarch will premiere next Tuesday, Sept. 20 (9:00 p.m. ET/PT) after The Resident on FOX.