The second season of HBO’s critically acclaimed Westworld TV series wrapped up this past weekend, with Variety reporting that – as with the rest of the season – the finale fell short of the numbers the show delivered in its first season.
According to the outlet, Sunday’ season two finale pulled in 1.6 million viewers and a 0.6 rating in the key 18-49 demo, down 30% in viewers and 40% in the demo from 2016’s season one finale, which scored 2.2 million viewers and a 1.0 rating.
As it happens, these numbers match the average Live+Same Day ratings for the full season, which was down 14% in viewers and 24% in the demo overall compared to the first season. In terms of delayed and multi-platform viewing, HBO has said that season two will average around 10 million viewers per episode, which again is down from the 13.2 million average of the first season.
Westworld has come in for some criticism for its overly complex storytelling, and while it certainly has a loyal core fan base, it remains to be seen whether the show will have the mass audience appeal to take Game of Thrones’ spot as the cable network’s flagship show once the fantasy series finishes its run next year.
Westworld has been created for television by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, and features a cast that includes the likes of Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, Jimmi Simpson, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, and Tessa Thompson. New cast members this season included Gustaf Skarsgård, Jonathan Tucker, Fares Fares, Katja Herbers, Peter Mullan, Rinko Kikuchi, and Kiki Sukezane.
