Terra Nova was expected to premiere in the U.S. in May 2011 with a two-hour preview, but due to the time involved for visual effects, its pilot was moved to autumn (late September) 2011 to air with the rest of season one.
The Canadian premiere drew 1.4 million viewers, the largest audience for a drama in Citytv's history.
In June 2011, Terra Nova was one of eight honorees in the Most Exciting New Series category at the Critics' Choice Television Awards, voted by journalists who had seen the pilots.
The Fox premiere drew 9.22 million viewers and 3.1 in the 18-49 demo in live plus same day results, rising to 4.1 in Live+3, the best result by a new drama.