While there are those who believe The Acolyte is being "review-bombed," the huge surge of negative verdicts means it now has an Audience Score (14%) on Rotten Tomatoes which is worse than even the hilariously bad Star Wars Holiday Special.
Seeing as the show has an 84% score from critics, there's clearly a stark contrast between how critics and fans have responded to the series. However, newly revealed viewership data from Variety (via SFFGazette.com) may paint a very different picture when it comes to whether The Acolyte can be considered a success.
In a Top 10 list which measures the minutes watched by every streaming original TV show between June 7 - June 13, Netflix dominates with 9 titles.
The likely reason for that is the streamer's tendency to release entire seasons at a time; however, even with only two episodes of The Acolyte available on Disney+, it still managed to reach the #6 spot.
It appears The Acolyte received a boost from viewers who waited until the weekend to watch it, suggesting the majority weren't swayed by negative fan reviews. If anything, this proves that what happens online occurs in something of an echo chamber, with non-fans largely uninterested in any potential campaigns to "review-bomb" shows (or even what legitimately unhappy fans have to say about continuity and the like).
Of course, just like a bad movie which earns $1 billion at the box office, this doesn't mean The Acolyte's legitimate critics are wrong. It does, however, suggest there's still a great deal of interest in the latest Star Wars TV show.
"Taking fresh risks with Star Wars lore while having infectious fun playing with the stylistic trappings of a galaxy far, far away," reads Rotten Tomatoes' Critics Consensus, "The Acolyte is a Padawan series with the potential to become a Master."
Check out these statistics below and keep checking back here for more on The Acolyte as we have it.
In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems...
The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
The next Star Wars TV series comes from creator and showrunner Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), who also serves as executive producer alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers, and Rayne Roberts and Damian Anderson are producing.
Four episodes of The Acolyte are now streaming on Disney+.