Finally, after a ton of anticipation and questionable decision making, The Mayor premiered this Tuesday at 9:30 pm EST. The Mayor received approximately four million viewers which is definitely a solid turnout however, I had thought this would be a higher number. The Mayor absolutely destroyed Andy Samberg’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine which in ratings and viewership nearly doubled both with its 1.2 rating and four million turnout. NBC’s highest rated show, This is Us stole the show on Tuesday with a 3.1 rating and eleven million viewers. The Mayor is in the same spot (behind Black-ish at 9:30pm) that The Real O’Neals was in just last year. Which ended up lasting two years before the network decided to cancel it. USA Today believes that The Mayor is a “breath of earnest fresh air in a dark and cynical world” They specifically enjoyed all the political humor and credited the Hall with creating a great character dynamic. Overall, it was a solid but not great premiere for a show that has held a ton of hype.

We are one week away from the official television premiere of The Mayor. The publicity buzz that the show held just last week after surprise releasing the pilot online has definitely cooled down a bit which is surprising considering that the actual premiere is in under a week. The networks decision to release it early online was most likely a decision related to the hype of the show at the current time but considering it may have been too early, this could become a major mistake of the network. The Chicago Tribune, in an interview with creator Jeremy Bronson,  stated that Chance the Rapper is a loose interpretation of what The Mayor is about, being that Chance is a public activist for Chicago’s public school system and a community leader.  Bronson talked about how his idea with this show stemmed from the fact that there was no hopeful show about politics in a time in which any positivity regarding politics is not taken for granted.

On September 13th, ABC decided to post the pilot episode early online. I find it very fitting that the network decided to do this as there was a ton of hype and publicity behind the show in early September and waiting until October 3rd could have potentially threatened the ratings and the success of the show.  The Mayors first critiques were extremely positive across various publications. AD Week believes that They Mayor is the most promising of the five new series that ABC is previewing with Marvel Inhumans, Kevin Saves The World, Ten Days in the Valley and The Good Doctor. The publication also stated that lead, Michael Brandon Hall has immediate chemistry with the cast and in particular with his mother in the show, Yvette Nicole Brown. Entertainment Tonight also tagged Brandon Michael Hall as one of the nine breakout stars you need to know calling him “charismatic, magnetic and a breath of fresh air”

In the past few days there has been a ton of publicity about The Mayor. TV Guide gave a recap of what the show was about along with a great video in which they interviewed cast members Yvette Nicole Brown, Brandon Michael Hall and Bernard David Jones about which rappers they believed could genuinely run for office. This was a great marketing play as we are in the midst of a time in which electoral humor is extremely pertinent. Variety wrote a review on The Mayor’s panel interview at the PaleyFest Fall TV Previews in which the cast talked about the state of politics and its relevance to the show and current media landscape. The cast also spoke about how executive producer Daveed Diggs, the multi talented scholar who recently was awarded a grammy and a tony for his work in Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is creating original tracks with the help of his lead, Brandon Michael Hall (Courtney Rose) for each new episode all of which will be available on Spotify and on Apple Music.