‘Penguin’ Takes Flight: HBO Touts Strong Ratings for First Two Episodes

‘Penguin’ Takes Flight: HBO Touts Strong Ratings for First Two Episodes

As a seasoned gamer and avid fan of superhero shows, I must say that the current hype surrounding The Penguin has me absolutely thrilled! With its impressive viewership numbers outshining most other HBO series, it’s evident that Colin Farrell’s portrayal of this iconic DC villain is a hit among fans.


Viewers appear to be flocking to The Penguin.

The debut of Colin Farrell’s HBO series portraying the infamous DC Comics villain has garnered 10.4 million viewers across platforms within its first 11 days, making it the highest-viewed new HBO series over a similar period, except for House of the Dragon and The Last of Us. These two shows are HBO’s most popular during this time frame.

Over the past week, HBO announced that the debut episode of ‘The Penguin’ attracted 5.3 million viewers within four days of its release. Interestingly, approximately 5.1 million additional people tuned in during the subsequent seven days. The second episode, broadcast on Sunday, drew a total of 1.6 million viewers across all platforms, marking a 17% increase compared to the premiere’s first night viewership.

The final episode of the third season for the series ‘Industry’ was watched by 260,000 viewers on its premiere night this past Sunday. This is lower than the highest number of first-night viewers for any episode so far this season (370,000), but overall, season three has attracted about a third more viewers per episode compared to season two (1.6 million vs 1.2 million). HBO has already confirmed that ‘Industry’ will return for a fourth season.

Originally, “The Penguin” wasn’t planned as an HBO series; instead, it was intended to stream exclusively on Max, HBO’s streaming service sibling. However, due to a rebranding move, “The Penguin,” along with other DC-based dramas like “Lanterns,” the upcoming “Dune: Prophecy,” “Welcome to Derry,” and both the “Harry Potter” series, were shifted to fall under the HBO Originals umbrella in June. This means that they will now air on both Max and HBO cable channels.

It’s hard to determine if ‘The Penguin’ would have had the same viewership if it were exclusively on Max. On its initial broadcast on September 19, it attracted 242,000 viewers, which was about 18% of its first-night total. However, additional airings and HBO’s brand recognition likely played a part in increasing the audience to some extent.

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2024-09-30 23:54