ITV’s bid to position David Tennant as a leading face of the network appears to have faltered, as his new series Genius Game has become one of the broadcaster’s biggest ratings disappointments in recent years.
The prime-time game show, which reportedly cost more than £2.5 million to make, launched with an average audience of 1.2 million viewers but has seen numbers fall sharply.
According to newly released figures, the second episode dropped to 846,000, and this week’s episode dipped even further to just 739,000.
In response to the declining ratings, ITV has cut the series from two weekly episodes to one.
Despite the drop in linear viewing, the broadcaster insists the show is performing better on catch-up.
“Genius Game remains in the peak schedule on ITV1 at 9pm on Wednesdays and is available to view on ITVX,” a spokesperson told The Sun.
“Episode one (shown on Wednesday, April 30) has so far consolidated with 1.9 million viewers. Episode two is currently up to 1.3 million.”
The series, hosted by the Doctor Who and Broadchurch star, features contestants facing off in mental challenges.
It was developed amid a wave of interest in competition formats following the success of BBC’s The Traitors.
However, a TV insider told The Sun: “'The Genius Game was a reflection of ITV's rush to create the next big challenge show following the huge success of The Traitors.
“They chose Tennant as he's such a household name, although his not-insubstantial fee also inflated the cost of making the programme. Yet despite pumping so much money into the show, it hasn't delivered ratings wise.”
Viewers were also left confused by the concept during the premiere, with many commenting on social media that the format felt overly complicated.
“Just starting this. Seems very complicated. I’ll watch it out but not looking good tbh #GeniusGame,” one penned on X.
Another commented: “I'm struggling to understand. I'm clearly no genius, the rules on rules on rules are something else #GeniusGame”.
However a viewer said in defence of it: “This was a really good premiere of #GeniusGame for ITV. I’m a bit wary that the general public can’t understand the games, but for me, it’s about smart people trying to outsmart their peers. And I loved it.”
Meanwhile, rival shows in the same time slot have fared far better - BBC One’s Race Across the World pulled in 3.3 million viewers, while Channel 4’s Madeleine McCann: The Unseen Evidence also outperformed ITV’s latest gamble.
