The numbers are in on theWestworldSeason 3 premiere and it looks like the brainy HBO sci-fi series has sustained a big hit in total viewers. It’s been two years sinceWestworldwas on our TV screens, making the 68-minuteSeason 3 premiere, “Parce Domine”, on Sunday night a breath of fresh air for fans who’ve been keen to dive into the next chapter.
However,Varietyreported on a significant dip in theWestworldviewership. TheWestworldSeason 3 premiere has the lowest number of viewers in the show’s history, with 901,000 tuning in on Sunday, March 15. This marks a 57% dip when compared to 2018’s Season 2 premiere, which scored 2.1 million viewers. When combined with HBO’s digital platforms, HBO Now and HBO Go, theWestworldSeason 3 opener gathered 1.7 million viewers total, which still isn’t up to snuff with Season 2’s premiere numbers (3 million across live TV and streaming) and barely passes the Season 2 finale viewership of 1.6 million. Even so, theWestworldSeason 3 premiere had a better opening thanWatchmenandThe Outsider, beating those shows' premiere totals by a respective 13% and 24%.
There is no one culprit to consider for this drop inWestworldviewers. Instead, it’s likely there were a few reasons the Season 3 premiere failed to crack 1 million viewers, despite boasting a more streamlined (as far as we can tell) timeline and one of the best TV casts working in the prestige TV circuit.WestworldSeason 3 had to compete with the most recent Democratic candidate debate on Sunday night, which would have also been a major draw for Americans in this election year. It has also been two years sinceWestworldwas on TV and withSeason 2 leaving many fans frustrated, it was likely a Herculean task for series showrunnersJonathan NolanandLisa Joyto craft a new chapter worthy of luring those fans back in.
It will be interesting to see ifWestworldcan build it audience back up to the days of Season 2 or 1. That said, thetrailer for Episode 2, “The Winter Line,” and beyond as well as a tantalizingEpisode 1 post-credits scenemight be able to do the trick.
