The premiere of the Sofia the First: The Floating Palace special was a ratings winner for Disney Channel on Sunday (Nov. 24). According to the cabler, the 7 p.m. broadcast garnered a 4.7 million total viewership, making it number one preschool telecast of the year to date, and the #1 evening telecast across all TV among Kids 2-5 (1.1 million/7.1 rating) and Girls 2-5 (706,000/9.3 rating). It was also this year’s #1 evening preschool telecast among Boys 2-5 (396,000/5.0 rating), Kids 2-11 (2.3 million/5.8 rating), Adults 18-49 (1.4 million/1.1 rating) and Women 18-49 (911,000/1.4 rating).
The special was also Disney Channel’s #5 telecast of all time in Girls 2-5, and it was the series’ second most watched episode behind only last year’s prequel movie, Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess. The special will be rebroadcast on the 24-hour Disney Junior channel Thursday, November 28 at 7 p.m.
The Floating Palace takes the princess and her royal family to Merriway Cove, where Sofia meets a young mermaid named Oona (Mad Men‘s Kiernan Shipka). After helping Oona get untangled from a net, Sofia’s magical amulet transforms her into a mermaid, too. During her underwater adventure, Sofia learns the mermaids don’t like her family keeping the floating palace in their cove. When Oona is captured by a sea monster, Sofia (and Princess Ariel, voiced by Disney Legend Jodi Benson reprising her famous role) must save her and create harmony between the two worlds.
The Disney series was developed by Craig Gerber (Pixie Hollow Games), who also serves as executive producer and story editor. Jamie Mitchell (Special Agent Oso) is executive producer and director, while John Kavanaugh (Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo) serves as songwriter/music director and Kevin Kliesch (Tangled Ever After) is the composer.
