HBO’s “IT” Series Ranks Third in Premiere Viewership

HBO recently premiered the highly anticipated show “IT: Welcome to Derry,” captivating an audience of 5.7 million viewers across various platforms in its first three days. This marks the third biggest debut in HBO history, trailing behind the “Game of Thrones” spin-off “House of the Dragon” and the video game adaptation “The Last of Us.” While viewer numbers are impressive, reviews for the show aren’t as stellar, sitting at an average of 60/100 on Metacritic.

The series’ premiere has sparked discussions due to its gory and unsettling opening scenes and an unexpected violent twist in its climactic moments. What’s intriguing is that Pennywise doesn’t make an appearance, yet “IT” remains an integral part of the storyline. Interestingly, only 334,000 viewers caught the initial airing on HBO, with 94% opting to watch via HBO Max or replays.

Comparatively, both “House of the Dragon” and “The Last of Us” went on to attract around 30 million viewers per episode during their runs. It’ll be interesting to see if “IT: Welcome to Derry” can achieve similar success. Despite mixed reviews, the show’s unique storyline seems to be drawing quite the crowd and igniting conversations among viewers.