True Detective becomes most watched freshman series in HBO history
By Josh Hill
Credit: HBO
We knew that there was a pretty good chance of True Detective becoming a hit on HBO but now that the delayed numbers are in on the ratings for the season, we have an idea of just how watched the series was in it’s inaugural run. While the show was expected to post decent numbers, Deadline is reporting that the ratings are so high that they’ve set a new high water mark for freshman HBO series.
"With delayed viewers factored in, the gross audience for HBO‘s buzzy new drama series True Detective starring Matthew McConaughy and Woody Harrelson has risen to 11.9 million viewers per episode, making it the most-watched first-year series in HBO’s history."
11.9 million people per episode is absolutely nothing to sneeze at, as that’s on par with Game of Thrones — HBO’s flagship program.
The fact that the series is ranking that high in the ratings game is outstanding an all but ensures that HBO continues to give it elite treatment. But with high ratings comes high expectations and there’s fear that the second season simply can’t live up to the first.
It’s too early to go all Rust Cohle on the show and be a cynic, but the expectation is now there by almost 12 million people that the series be more than just decent. Thankfully, Game of Thrones has lived up to the hype and that means HBO knows how to make sure a show with high ratings doesn’t take a dip in quality.