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HBO’s Watchmen Series Losing Viewers After Airing Its Second Episode


Damon Lindelof's Watchmen series might have been a major critical success when it premiered on HBO, however, it seems like the show has lost 200 thousand viewers now that it's released its second episode last Sunday.

According to a report by Variety, Watchmen dipped in viewership after releasing its latest episode, losing 13% of the audience that it had when it premiered HBO. The series managed to rake in 1.5 million viewers when it released its first episode, however, it seems like the series has managed to lose 200 thousand viewers now that it continues with its racially charged narrative.

HBO doesn't seem too alarmed by the dip – the total viewing for the first episode has given Watchmen the strongest debut performance for a series since Westworld's premiere in 2016. However, sites like Cosmic Book News have been linking the loss in viewership to issues that fans have with the series.

Sure, Watchmen might be enjoying a 98% Fresh rating from critics over at Rotten Tomatoes, however, the film's audience score has only come around to 43%. There's a huge disparity in the critic and audience scores with fans describing the series as "bland," "boring," and "flat." Some fans are complaining about how Rorschach's legacy has been turned into an insult in the series now that white supremacists have used the hero's symbol as an image to instigate fear. Some feel like the series is way too racially charged and that the narrative has become too heavy-handed and disjointed.

Have you seen Watchmen yet? What do you think of the series? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Watchmen airs every Sunday on HBO.

Read: HBO Max to Include Joker, Batman, and Other DC Movies at Launch

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