Awkwafina’s incredible run of success continues, as the numbers for the debut of her new Comedy Central show make for more than pleasant reading.
Episode 1 of “Awkwafina is Nora from Queens” has amassed 818,000 total viewers after three days of delayed viewing, which represents a healthy 67% boost from the Live+Same Day tally of 489,000. That numbers also stand as Comedy Central’s strongest L+3 launch in more than three years, per the network. In terms of rating, the premiere scored a 0.56 among adults 18-49 after three days delayed, a 79% jump from Live+Same Day.
According to Comedy Central, the premiere has been viewed by a total of 3.8 million viewers across all platforms, including all other ViacomCBS networks. 2.2 million of those came via the simulcast and replays of the episode, and 1.6 million have viewed the episode on YouTube.
The series is written by and stars Awkwafina, who recently won a musical or comedy film actress Golden Globe for her performance in “The Farewell,” as Nora Lin, who is struggling to navigate the adult world while living at home with her dad (BD Wong) and grandmother (Lori Tan Chinn). The show is inspired by Awkwafina’s real-life growing up in Queens. N.Y., and also stars Bowen Yang her cousin.
Its strong debut will likely feel vindicating for Comedy Central, which renewed the series for a second outing on Jan. 14 ahead of its premiere date. The first season of “Awkwafina is Nora From Queens” counts Natasha Lyonne, Lucia Aniello, Jamie Babbit, Steven Tsuchida, Anu Valia, Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan among its directors.
Of the first season, Variety‘s chief television critic Daniel D’Addario wrote that the show “rises or falls on its star’s charisma. Thankfully, she has plenty to spare.”