OWN soap “The Haves and the Have Nots” wrapped its first season on Tuesday with a series high — drawing more than double the audience of the show’s premiere and setting a network record in the process.
The finale of the Tyler Perry soap averaged 3.6 million viewers for its 9 p.m. telecast, according to Nielsen, an 18% jump from the previous week (3.05 million). It ranked second among cable programs Tuesday night, behind only the 4.74 million for TNT’s “Rizzoli & Isles.”
Tuesday’s episode also established a high-water mark for an OWN telecast since its January 2011 launch, surpassing the 3.5 million who tuned into to Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Bobbi Kristina in March 2012.
The series opener for “Haves” last May drew a modest 1.77 million, but the show wrapped its 16-episode order in early September with a 2013 best of 2.61 million, and viewership only picked up when it returned for 10 additional episodes to end its season. A second season is scheduled to launch in May.
In adults 18-49, “The Haves and the Have Nots” averaged a 1.1 rating — not quite a series record but 89% higher than the show’s premiere last May (0.57). It was cable’s No. 1 scripted program for the night in the demo and also beat out ABC comedy “Trophy Wife” (0.9) and finished closely behind Fox comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (1.2).
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The soap did set a record in women 25-54, with its 1.96 rating representing a 20% week-over-week gain and good enough to lead all of cable for the night.
“Haves” stars John Schneider and Tika Sumpter. It is produced for OWN by Tyler Perry Studios. It is created, written, directed and executive produced by Perry.