“Watchmen” hit a person best with its season — and possibly series — finale on Sunday, which scored 1.6 million viewers across all of HBO’s platforms, according to the pay TV channel.
On Oct. 20, the series premiere of the Regina King-led drama, which is Damon Lindelof’s TV sequel to Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore’s iconic graphic novel, scored 1.5 million multiplatform viewers across HBO, HBO Now and HBO Go. The episode marked the strongest digital debut for the premium cable channel since the launch of “Westworld” in 2016.
Last night, HBO’s 9 p.m. airing of the finale episode, titled “See How They Fly,” alone drew 935,000 viewers, which is an improvement of 14% over last week’s installment and 17% above the series debut, which brought in 800,000 viewers with its initial telecast, according to HBO. The “Watchmen” Season 1 closer also reached record highs for its preliminary digital premiere marking 8% above last week and 31% above the show’s debut night.
Per HBO, “Watchmen” is averaged more than 7 million viewers per episode this season, making it HBO’s most-watched first season of an original series since “Big Little Lies” Season 1 in 2017 and also the most-watched 4th quarter original series on HBO since “Westworld.”
Based on Moore and Gibbons’ acclaimed comic book series set in the ’80s, the show exists “in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws.” According to HBO, “‘Watchmen’ embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while attempting to break new ground of its own.”
“Watchmen” stars King, Jeremy Irons, Jean Smart, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Adelaide Clemens, Andrew Howard, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, Lily Rose Smith and Adelynn Spoon.
The series is produced for HBO by White Rabbit in association with Warner Bros. Television, based on characters from DC.
“Watchmen” has not been renewed for a second season and Lindelof has some serious thoughts on whether or not he’d like to continue, telling Rolling Stone in an interview published after the finale that “right now, I don’t have any more ideas.”
“Whether you call something a limited series or an ongoing series, that’s fodder for awards consideration,” he said. “I’m not comfortable calling this anything other than nine complete episodes with a beginning, a middle, and an end. There is no promise of a continuation. Although others may disagree.”
43 Most Shocking TV Character Deaths of 2019, From 'Game of Thrones' to 'Stranger Things' (Photos)
If there was one thing 2019 taught us, it's that "shocking" is a truly relative term -- and we're not even talking about real-life instances here. Yes, it's pretty hard to blow anyone's mind these days, including that of TV viewers, making truly gasp-worthy small-screen character deaths few and far between. But that didn't stop several showrunners from doing their worst -- er, best, to totally kill you with these on-screen passings. Click through TheWrap's gallery to see the 43 most shocking TV character deaths of 2019. Obviously, spoilers ahead. And yes, most of these are "Game of Thrones" characters.
Trade Minister Nobusuke Tagomi - "The Man in the High Castle"
Amazon Prime Video
Thatcher Grey - "Grey's Anatomy"
ABC
Quentin - "The Magicians"
Syfy
Swanny - "SEAL Team"
CBS
Candy - "Pose"
FX
Jack - "Supernatural"
The CW
Riz - "Mayans MC"
FX
Asher - "How to Get Away With Murder"
ABC
The Night King - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Daenerys Targaryen - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Cersei and Jaime Lannister - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Sandor ("The Hound") and Gregor ("The Mountain) Clegane - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Theon Greyjoy - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Melisandre - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Varys - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Missandei - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Jorah Mormont - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Dolorous Edd - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Lyanna Mormont - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Beric Dondarrion - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Maester Qyburn - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Euron Greyjoy - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Rhaegal - "Game of Thrones"
HBO
Tara Chambler - "Walking Dead"
AMC
Enid - "Walking Dead"
AMC
Henry - "Walking Dead"
AMC
Siddiq - "Walking Dead"
AMC
1 of 44
OK, *most* are ”Game of Thrones“
If there was one thing 2019 taught us, it's that "shocking" is a truly relative term -- and we're not even talking about real-life instances here. Yes, it's pretty hard to blow anyone's mind these days, including that of TV viewers, making truly gasp-worthy small-screen character deaths few and far between. But that didn't stop several showrunners from doing their worst -- er, best, to totally kill you with these on-screen passings. Click through TheWrap's gallery to see the 43 most shocking TV character deaths of 2019. Obviously, spoilers ahead. And yes, most of these are "Game of Thrones" characters.