BET’s Highly Anticipated Original Series “Twenties” From Lena Waithe Triumphs With Ratings Success as Close to 2 Million Total Viewers Tuned in to Its Debut Night

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BET’s “Twenties” takes off in the ratings on its debut night, grossing 1.9 Million viewers 2+ during premiere night across premieres and encores* (simulcast across BET and BET Her on 3/4/20). The night grossed 719k viewers in the P18-49 demo. Hailed as a “bright new comedy” by Rolling Stone, and “sharply written and hilariously relatable” by Rotten Tomatoes who have also ranked it “100% Certified Fresh,” “Twenties” logged double-digits-L+3 ratings lift vs. L+SD number. “Twenties” episode one grew +44% in Live + 3 (Adults 18-49) and episode two grew +46% in Live + 3 (Adults 18-49). New episodes of “Twenties” air Wednesdays at 10 PM ET/PT on BET followed this week by the second season premiere of “BOOMERANG” at 10:30 PM ET/PT.

The premiere of “Twenties” delivered .42 P18-49 rating Live+3, 759K total viewers P2+ (Simulcast across BET and BET Her); .38 P18-49 rating Live+3, and 704K total viewers P2+ (on BET alone). Additionally, the press is buzzing about the series. Highlights included below:

“redefines the queer black narrative” – Deadline

“impressive” – The Hollywood Reporter

“groundbreaking” – TheGrio

"a good BET comedy" – TV Guide

“genuinely fantastic" – Paper

About “Twenties”

“Twenties,” from Executive Producer and Creator Lena Waithe, centers around a screenwriter, ‘Hattie’ and her girlfriends ‘Marie’ and ‘Nia’ as they pursue their dreams and love, while testing the limits of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in Los Angeles. While they live separate lives, the girls lean on each other for guidance as they navigate their twenties. Lena Waithe executive produces with Susan Fales-Hill, who co-showrunned with Waithe. Rishi Rajani and Andrew Coles also executive produced. Justin Tipping directed the pilot, and, also executive produced.

For behind the scenes look at the making of the series, plus exclusive clips and photos from “Twenties”, please visit BET.com/Twenties and join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #TwentiesOnBET.

*Source: Nielsen. Live + Same Day, Live + 3. TV with Digital. BET, BET Her. Premiere night (Wed Mar 4, 2020). Premiere night gross is sum of impressions (000s)

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BET, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel is in 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, sub-Saharan Africa and France. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions including BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET Music Networks - BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.