HBO launched its hotly-anticipated Watchmen series this past Sunday, with Variety reporting that 1.5 million viewers tuned in to watch the first episode of the Damon Lindelof-produced sequel to the iconic Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons superhero comic book.
According to HBO, Watchmen’s series premiere was “the strongest debut performance for a series on its digital platforms since the series premiere of Westworld in 2016″ and saw a ratings increase of 21% over the previous week’s Succession season two finale in the same slot.
For comparison, the series premiere of Westworld drew 1.96 million viewers back in October 2016, while season two premiered to 2.06 million.
SEE ALSO: New Watchmen trailer teases what’s to come this season
Watchmen enjoyed stellar reviews with its series premiere episode ‘It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice’, with Flickering Myth’s Martin Carr stating: “Bold, inventive and unrelentingly powerful in its opening hour, Watchmen is looking to rewrite the ground rules for small screen entertainment.”
What did you make of the Watchmen premiere? Let us know in the comments, or on our social channels @flickeringmyth…
Watchmen features a cast that includes Regina King (The Leftovers), Jeremy Irons (Justice League), Don Johnson (Miami Vice), Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk), Louis Gossett Jr. (Iron Eagle), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman), Adelaide Clemens (Rectify), Andrew Howard (Truth or Dare), Tom Mison (Sleepy Hollow), Frances Fisher (Titanic), Jacob Ming-Trent (White Famous), Sara Vickers (Endeavour), Dylan Schombing (Sharp Objects), James Wolk (Tell Me a Story), Lily Rose Smith (The Vampire Diaries), Jean Smart (Legion), Hong Chau (Downsizing) and Dustin Ingram (Sun Records).