The Penguin premiere gets great ratings in line with The Last of Us, House of the Dragon

The Penguin premiere gets great ratings in line with The Last of Us, House of the Dragon

As a seasoned gamer and TV enthusiast who’s seen more shows than I can count on my fingers (and toes!), I must say that the current state of TV ratings is quite intriguing. The newcomer, The Penguin, has certainly made a splash, with impressive viewership numbers and critical acclaim to boot. It’s always refreshing to see a spinoff series live up to its potential, much like how I felt when I finally managed to beat the final boss in that obscure indie game I spent countless hours on back in the day.


As a die-hard TV enthusiast, let me share some exciting insights about current TV ratings! The latest sensation sweeping through the small screen is “The Penguin”, a thrilling spinoff featuring Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobb, the future nemesis of Batman. This gritty crime drama, reminiscent of “The Sopranos”, has been praised by critics, including myself, and it seems that viewers are equally smitten. According to Variety, HBO reports that “The Penguin” garnered an impressive 5.3 million viewers for its debut within four days of its release, across both HBO and Max. This viewership figure surpasses the season 4 premiere of “Succession” and the season 2 premiere of “The White Lotus”, two other critically acclaimed HBO dramas. However, it falls slightly short of the take for the season 4 premiere of “True Detective: Night Country”. Notably, “The Penguin” has delivered the best numbers for a new series on Max since 2022’s “The Last of Us”.

The numbers you see here are from HBO. Samba TV, an external company that tracks ratings, has reported that the premiere of “The Penguin” was viewed by approximately 3.2 million households within its first four days of release. This is different from the total number of individual viewers, though. TheWrap reports that this figure surpasses the household viewership for the season 2 premiere of “House of the Dragon,” which was watched by around 2.8 million households during the same timeframe. However, it’s worth noting that the season 2 premiere of “House of the Dragon” reportedly had 7.8 million viewers on its initial broadcast night, a much larger number.

As a dedicated gamer, I must say that The Penguin series seems to be more popular than one might initially assume. Even though deciphering its exact popularity can be tricky due to delayed TV ratings from Nielsen, it’s evident that many eyes are glued to their screens when this show is on.

The Penguin premiere gets great ratings in line with The Last of Us, House of the Dragon

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power breaks onto the Nielsen charts

Let us discuss Nielsen’s recent release – their weekly streaming ratings chart from August 26 to September 1. Shall we examine it?

  1. Prison Break (HuluNetflix): 1.188 billion minutes streamed
  2. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video): 1.015 billion minutes
  3. Familiy Guy (Hulu): 1.005 billion
  4. A Discovery of Witches (Netflix): 915 million minutes streamed
  5. The Accident (Netflix): 891 million minutes
  6. Dark Winds (Netflix): 890 million
  7. Bluey (Disney+): 880 million
  8. Worst Ex Ever (Netflix): 830 million
  9. Grey’s Anatomy (Hulu/Netflix): 724 million
  10. Bob’s Burgers (Hulu): 693 million

As a dedicated gamer, I’ve been eagerly waiting for the latest installments in “The Rings of Power” season 2. To my delight, the first three episodes dropped on August 29! In just a few short days, these episodes managed to garner over a billion minutes of viewing time. However, it’s important to note that Nielsen doesn’t break down viewership by season, so those billions of minutes include the entire “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” series, not just the new season 2 episodes. Nonetheless, Nielsen mentioned that approximately 70% of those minutes were dedicated to our freshly released episodes.

As a gamer, here’s how I might rephrase it: “When it comes to Nielsen’s measurements for ‘The Rings of Power’, they only cover U.S. viewership. However, Amazon claims that a whopping 70% of the audience is from beyond our borders. So, while things can get a bit confusing, the numbers we have are still quite promising.

To put it simply, the viewership numbers for season 2 of “The Rings of Power” aren’t as impressive as they were for season 1. The first season garnered an astounding 1.2 billion minutes watched with just two episodes available in 2022. Interestingly, even in this digital age, “The Rings of Power” didn’t surpass the streaming numbers of the show “Prison Break,” which ended way back in 2017. It’s a reminder that classic shows can find a new audience on Netflix, the most popular streaming platform today. For example, consider how Netflix revitalized “A Discovery of Witches.” It’s also heartening to see George R.R. Martin’s show “Dark Winds” receiving attention on Netflix as well.

Regardless, episodes of “The Rings of Power” are released on Thursdays via Amazon Prime Video, with just one episode left in the second season. As for “The Penguin”, it will be broadcast on HBO and Max every Sunday, despite its premiere airing on Thursday. Frankly, I’m puzzled by HBO’s decision there, but I do know the show is worth watching, so let’s hope viewers catch up to its new day of broadcast.

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2024-09-27 20:42

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