‘Victoria’ overthrown by JK Rowling’s ‘Strike’ in UK’s Sunday night TV ratings

Victoria made an admirable return in the UK last weekend, but was beaten in the ratings by JK Rowling’s new crime drama series, Strike.

The opening episode of Victoria‘s second season and the first instalment of the Harry Potter author’s new TV adaptation of her Cormoran Strike novels went head to head on ITV and BBC One on Sunday night.

Victoria drew in an average of 3.9 million viewers, peaking at 4.2 million, while Strike averaged 5.5 million viewers, hitting a peak of 6.2 million.

The Musketeers star Tom Burke plays a war veteran turned private detective operating out of a tiny office in London’s Denmark Street in Strike, adapted from J.K. Rowling’s global bestselling novels written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

Starring Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who) and Tom Hughes (The Game) as Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Victoria continues on Sunday night on ITV in the UK with ‘The Green-Eyed Monster’.

The first season of Victoria is available now on DVD.

Season 2 will air in the US on Masterpiece on PBS from January 2018.