“Succession” is a great show, maybe one of the best of all time. But it was not “Game of Thrones.”
HBO says the “Succession” season finale hit 2.9 million across all platforms including the HBO channel and (HBO) Max. This is just from Sunday night and not from the last couple of days of delayed viewing.
On HBO itself, the linear viewing was in the high 800,000 range. The finale did marginally better than the rest of the season, although it was 68% higher, they say, than the Season 3 finale.
All of this is about the same as the average this season. “Succession” is a niche show. The audience only grew to a point, which is why maybe HBO wanted to wrap it up now. No big dragon fights or zombie wars were coming. Just more of the same, which, of course, the hardcore fans loved.
For HBO, “Succession” is a prestige show. It will sweep the Emmys and SAG and Critics Choice Awards. It will live on as a perennial favorite, always admired and much missed. But it’s a finite proposition.
More hard linear numbers are coming. Stay tuned…