Well, look who decided to talk about Lanterns ratings again.
After a four-week ratings blackout, Variety reports that Episode 7, “The Jordan Boys’ Legacy,” pulled 7 million U.S. viewers during its first three days across HBO and HBO Max—a staggering, mind-boggling jump from…6.6 million 2 months ago.
Yikes isn’t the right word, but it’s the first one that comes to mind.
The season is now averaging more than 12 million viewers per episode domestically, and nearly 19 million globally once accumulated viewing is included. Better(?) still, another 1.5 million people watched the premiere just last week, so new viewers are still meandering in before Sunday’s finale. Look, all snark aside, those numbers are on the border of respectable. But if you spend 160 million dollars on a product, “serviceable” performance might underwhelm. You don’t pay Ferrari prices for Datsun performance.
And, lest we forget, we have seen that 7 million before.
Episode 3 also drew 7 million U.S. viewers in its first three days, alongside a 10 million worldwide total. HBO was quite pleased with that result. We heard about the domestic number, the international number, the 10 million headline, social-media engagement, and the fact that the premiere had already passed 20 million worldwide.
Then Episodes 4, 5 and 6 aired.
Crickets.
Now HBO has staged a “triumphant” return with Episode 7, drawing another 7 million U.S. viewers over three days. In other words, four episodes later, the show's early domestic audience has essentially returned to the same publicly reported level it reached with Episode 3.
But wait, I feel like something’s missing.
Where is Episode 7’s international three-day number?
Variety specifically notes that HBO did not provide one.
Perhaps it is terrific. Perhaps the Lantern Corps has conquered Belgium. Perhaps HBO is protecting us from a number so staggering it would have fractured society's collective psyche with its opulence.
I have no idea.
But HBO gave us the worldwide number when Episode 3 hit 10 million. Now, when Episode 7 arrives at the same 7 million domestic viewers, the corresponding international figure is suddenly absent. Instead, we are given the much larger and more flattering nearly 19 million global season average, which includes accumulated catch-up viewing over substantially longer periods.
HBO is playing Harry Houdini again.
No, the 19 million is not dishonest. When you’re expecting a magic show, it’s hard to accuse the magician of being a bit disingenuous. But I do wonder why the clean three-day global comparison disappeared. Especially because we have seen what HBO looks like when it knows it has a winner.
Take The Penguin.
From Episode 3 to Episode 4, Penguin viewership grew about 6.2%. From Episode 4 to Episode 5, viewership grew another 5.8%; Episode 6 was flat, but Episode 7 clocked another 5.5% increase. HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery kept pumping out the numbers because the numbers kept telling the story they wanted told. By the end, The Penguin had held the top spot on Samba TV’s streaming chart throughout its entire run, and Variety now places its eventual average at more than 27 million viewers per episode.
Lanterns currently sits just under 19 million globally.
Yes, that number will rise. The Penguin is a completed series with months of accumulated viewing behind it, while Lanterns hasn’t even aired its finale. And I can’t be honest without saying so. But the difference in behavior speaks for itself.
And HBO has done this before with other genuine breakout hits. The Last of Us became a weekly ratings press tour: 4.7 million, 5.7 million, 6.4 million, 7.5 million, 7.8 million, 8.1 million, 8.2 million. HBO literally published the episode-by-episode climb when the finale aired. That’s a story of growing audience goodwill. When the horse is winning, HBO apparently owns a very loud trumpet.
With Lanterns, we got the premiere, Episode 3…and then three missing weeks before Episode 7 produced the same 7 million domestic three-day audience Episode 3 had already reached. Again, this is not a bomb. Nearly 19 million accumulated global viewers per episode is real audience reach, and a trickle of people are still discovering the show.
But Lanterns was sold as a foundational piece of the new DC Universe, built around one of DC’s premier superhero properties. Against that expectation (and a 160 million dollar investment), “respectable” starts sounding an awful lot like underperformance. The finale will move the story, if only a smidge. If it does legitimately spike, HBO will surely let us know.