Thursday, March 28, 2024

Ratings: “Game of Thrones” was a Game-Changer for HBO Comedies “Barry” and “Veep,” Which More Than Tripled and Doubled Their Numbers

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“Game of Thrones” 11.7 million viewers on HBO itself (17 mil across all HBO platforms) was a Game-changer for the network.

Both “Barry” and “Veep,” which follow at 10pm and 10:30pm, had huge increases because of “GoT.”

“Barry” shot up from around 424,000 viewers the previous week to 1,775,000. Yikes! And “Veep” went up from 473K to over 1 million.

Of course, “Barry,” the subtly hilarious show about a hit man, is a broader experience. When the “GoT” viewers got to “Veep” they witnessed deft political satire and a character– Amy– who had an abortion, and then went back to work. I don’t know if HBO planned it that way, but the timing of the “Veep” episode was excellent. “GoT” gave them a much bigger audience.

Meanwhile, even Showtime’s “Billions” held its own against “Thrones.” They still managed 751,000 viewers, down just 100,000. So we’ll see how DVR viewing went over the next couple of days. I did have to DVR “Billions,” but it was worth it.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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