Touch pilot preview grabs 12 million viewers

FOX’s new series with Kiefer Sutherland (24) is also the network’s newest hit.  The early preview airing of Touch drew 12 million viewers and a 3.9 rating in the important 18-49 demographic on Wednesday.

It’s the second highest rating for a new drama premiere this season, just behind ABC’s Once Upon a Time (12.93 million).

In the new series from Heroes creator Tim Kring, Sutherland plays a widowed father named Martin Bohm, who struggles to connect with his 11-year-old son Jake.  After child protective services threaten to institutionalize the boy, Martin becomes convinced that Jake has the astonishing ability to see connections between people … giving him the ability to predict future events.

The series also stars David Mazouz as Jake Bohm and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Clea Hopkins. Actor Danny Glover appears as Arthur Teller, a man who knows a lot about kids like Jake.

For its preview airing Touch had the advantage of a lead-in from American Idol, which drew over 19 million viewers. The network hopes that the early showing will generate some buzz, the strategy that worked a couple of years ago for Glee.

This was a stellar pilot episode, easily the best I’ve seen since LOST debuted back in 2004. Touch has interesting characters, a fascinating premise, and a whole lot of heart. I can’t wait to see how it unfolds as a week-to-week show.

The series will officially begin on Monday, March 19.  Season One includes 13 episodes, and we’ve officially launched the show guide here at SciFi Stream to keep track of them!

You can watch Touch now on Hulu (until February 22, 2012). Have you seen it yet? What did you think?