Low Ratings for ‘Low Winter Sun’

AMC’s “Breaking Bad” has been one of the summer’s great ratings success stories, a testament to the power of binge watching and word of mouth.

But the numbers for that channel’s other Sunday drama, “Low Winter Sun,” have been a disappointment so far, and the show now looks like a missed opportunity to take advantage of the surge in viewership for “Breaking Bad.”

After “Low Winter Sun” scored decent ratings for its premiere on Aug. 11, with 2.5 million total viewers, the next episode drew only 1.5 million. The most recent episode, on Aug. 25, dropped even further, according to Nielsen, to 1.2 million. The show also finished outside that night’s Top 100 cable programs in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic and has now fallen below AMC’s other low-rated dramas.

“Hell on Wheels,” the western that AMC banished to Saturday this season and has no lead-in to speak of, had more total viewers than “Low Winter Sun” for its Aug. 24 episode, with 2 million.

Even “The Killing,” another AMC dark cop drama that was broadcast on Sundays earlier this summer, had a larger audience for its Season 3 finale on Aug. 4: 1.5 million viewers. “The Killing” has not yet been renewed for a fourth season, which does not bode well for the prospects of future seasons of “Low Winter Sun.”