Twin Peaks made its long-awaited return to the small screen this past Sunday more than 25 years after the conclusion of its second season, but – despite plenty of anticipation for the revival – David Lynch and Mark Frost’s cult show found itself really struggling in the ratings.
According to Nielsen, the two-part premiere pulled in just 506,000 viewers – a far cry from the 35 million who tuned in for the show’s very first episode on ABC back in 1990. Showtime was beaten in the ratings by fellow premium cable network HBO, with The Leftovers delivering 770,000 viewers at 9pm and Silicon Valley 844,000 viewers at 10pm.
It wasn’t all bad news for Showtime however; given that advertising isn’t part of its business model, other factors are taken into account when determining the success of a show, including social media buzz and of course subscriptions, with Showtime stating that the series had helped to set new records for sign-ups with its biggest ever single day and weekend.
“In the world that we live in now, offering original programming that attracts new subscribers is our primary business objective,” said David Nevins, Showtime’s chief executive. “By that standard, the Twin Peaks premiere is the biggest single-night driver we’ve ever had.”
SEE ALSO: Twin Peaks Season 3 Episodes 1 & 2 Review
It will be interesting to see what kind of ratings the third and fourth episodes manage to pull in, given that they have already been released online.
Originally published May 24, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
