The series finale for Succession drew 2.928 million viewers across linear HBO channels, as well as TV Everywhere and Max app-based streaming, a 68% increase over the December 12, 2021 season 3 ender.
In fact, Sunday's finale was the most watched Succession episode ever, even usurping the April 30 “Living+” episode, which drew 2.75 million same-day viewers.
Succession’s season four premiere back in March drew 2.3 million viewers.
For its fourth and final season, Succession is averaging 8.7 million viewers, subsequent day viewing across platforms factored in.
As its ample media coast coverage reveals, Succession was must-see TV Sunday night watching in certain enlightened regions of the country, a true successor to The Sopranos and The Wire, its darkly comedic themes laying bare the decayed fabric of our institutions and culture.
But as the incessant Warner Bros. Discovery ads for relaunched streaming service Max perhaps foretell, the show — its cultural relevance and uncompromising narrative qualities aside — might be too narrow as to be reiterated in some form anytime soon by its parent company.
Certainly, WBD — which wants Max to be the one watch by the many sides of us — has broader skewing programming options to choose from, franchise-oriented shows that seem to veer away from our terrifying undemocratic reality rather than plunge headlong into it as Succession just did.
Consider that HBO's April 2019 Game of Thrones finale drew 19.2 million same-day viewers. These days, HBO has House of the Dragon, which signed off its first season last October with 9.2 million same-day watchers, as well as numerous other GOT spinoffs in development.
Also worth considering: In March, HBO’s The Last of Us wrapped season one with 8.2 million Sunday-night watchers.
Meanwhile, back to this past Sunday, HBO’s hitman-themed comedic drama Barry also wrapped, drawing 700,000 viewers. That was a 13% uptick over the June 12, 2012 season three finale.
