Sometimes I wonder if social media is loud enough to actually matter. Is it just a bubble of likeminded individuals or does it penetrate into mainstream and eventually pop culture? While we’d have to see an actual analytical breakdown to know for sure, HBO is celebrating a brand new hit series that they credit to strong word-of-mouth.
Writer Damon Lindelof has come a long way since conning viewers with “Lost” and has since redeemed himself with “The Leftovers”, one of the greatest television dramas ever made. He reteamed with HBO on “Watchmen”, a modern take on Alan Moore’s astoundingly complex and rich comic series in which the smartest man in the world stages an alien invasion to “save the world.”
Now, as they near the first season’s finale, HBO has a hit on their hands with “Watchmen.”
Through its seven episodes so far, the show, created and executive produced by Lindelof, is drawing an average of 7.1 million viewers across HBO’s linear channels and streaming platforms, reports Variety who adds that, according to HBO’s tallies, “Watchmen” is premium cable’s most popular new series of 2019, and HBO’s most-watched new series since “Big Little Lies”.
On Sunday night, Episode 7, “An Almost Religious Awe,” drew 779,000 viewers in Nielsen’s Live+Same Day ratings, the show’s highest numbers since the premiere (799,000 viewers). Across HBO platforms Sunday, that number grew to 1.2 million viewers.
But here’s the kicker: According to HBO, the Sunday night premiere ratings for “Watchmen” account for only a little more than 10% of the show’s audience; the viewership for the series’ first episode stands at 9.6 million total viewers.
There’s been chatter that Lindelof may not be returning for a second season, and with that, another season isn’t yet guaranteed. With that said, “Watchmen” is quickly becoming an “event” series in which all spoilers are foregone as fandom live-tweets each episode. Odds are, HBO will capitalize on the new craze and us fans are learning a valuable lesson: social media can matter.