The Blacklist beats Hostages in season launches

The first episode of buzzy US drama The Blacklist has performed well for NBC, winning 12.6 million viewers, beating another hyped new drama, CBS’s Hostages.

The Blacklist stars James Spader as a wanted fugitive who mysteriously turns himself in. Its creditable opening episode performance meant it beat Hostages, which went out on CBS. The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced, Warner Bros.-distributed, drama won 7.5 million viewers for its network.

The US version of Talpa format The Voice actually beat everything else on Monday night, winning 14.7 million viewers for NBC in the first instalment of its fifth season. The strong season debut was its second best ever.

The Blacklist ratings will cheer the international broadcasters that have acquired the series.

It is produced and sold by Sony Pictures Television and has been picked up by Sky Living in the UK, TF1 in France and RTL in Germany among others.