Damon Lindelof’s continuation of the Watchmen story has earned near universal acclaim since it premiered on HBO two months ago. But now, the new series has the ratings to assert its status as a genuine hit. Variety is reporting that Watchmen is pulling in an average of 7.1 million viewers across all of the network’s linear channels and streaming platforms.
According to the report, these new numbers make Watchmen the most popular new premium cable series of 2019. Variety also noted the viewership for the show’s seventh and most-recent episode, “An Almost Religious Awe.” This installment drew 779,000 viewers in Nielsen’s Live+Same Day ratings, making it the highest-rated episode since the series premiere attracted 799,000 live viewers. When factoring in the numbers for HBO’s other platforms that total increased to 1.2 million.
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Watchmen’s October debut previously drew in 1.5 million viewers across all platforms. Although these weren’t comparable to Game of Thrones or Westworld‘s high numbers, the general consensus was that it was a respectable start to what turned out to be a very promising freshman series.
The series’ newfound ratings success would normally guarantee a second season. However, that all depends on whether Lindelof is on board. Like the original comic book, the first season of Watchmen was designed as a self-contained story. Lindelof did express an openness to making more episodes, but hinted that he might turn over showrunning duties to a different writer if HBO orders another season. However, there are no official plans in place.
What do you make of these latest viewer numbers for HBO’s Watchmen? And do you want to see a second season? Let us know in the comment section below!
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