Dustin Lance Black Responds To 'When We Rise's Ratings: 'It Will Live Online For A Long Time'

Dustin Lance Black has responded to the reports that his limited series When We Rise received low ratings in its first few days of airing on ABC.

When We Rise, which aired every weeknight except Tuesday last week, pulled in 2.95 million viewers during its Monday premiere. It fell to 2.05 million during its second installment Wednesday, and tracked 2.12 million on Thursday, according to Variety.

“First and foremost, our ratings aren’t in yet. Those numbers do not come in for another week or so, so the verdict on who’s watching When We Rise is not in yet,” Dustin expressed (via Advocate). “Listen, would I like more people to watch live? Sure. I would also love to own a pet unicorn. We’ve always known, and it’s always been our belief, that this show is going to excel in DVR and online, because that’s how people watch miniseries now. This is not the era of Roots, where there’s three networks and you have to watch live. So, we’re really hopeful, I have to say.”

“I do believe that the vast majority of viewers will watch on DVR. And if we can double our viewership on DVR, we’re considered a hit,” Dustin added. “I’ll tell ya, I’ve never had something so well received by an audience in my career. Watching the response on Twitter, on Facebook, and on social media, the notes that are coming in, the emails that are coming in, it’s been so incredibly humbling this past week to hear how people are receiving [it]. But I have to say, almost every single one says, ‘I can’t wait to watch the rest of it this weekend on my DVR.’ This has been created. It will live online for a good long time. I hope it will be utilized by schools and by folks in the middle of the country that might feel a bit alone for a very long time.”

Pictured: Dustin attending a special Q&A for When We Rise hosted by GLG on Tuesday (March 7) in New York City.