Sunday night was a big night for pay-cable. Not only did Showtime bring Weeds and Episodes back with new seasons, but HBO's The Newsroom premiered its second episode. Series premieres are big, the second episode probably tells us much more about the the direction the series might be taking as far as its ratings go, and unfortunately for The Newsroom, the news isn't great.
According to TV Line (and Vulture), Episode 2 of Aaron Sorkin's cable news-focused drama series The Newsroom took in 1.7 million total viewers on Sunday night. That's a 19% drop from its premiere, and the ratings decreased 30% among adults 18-49. Fortunately for those of us who have decided to stick with the show, HBO has already renewed it for Season 2. And being on HBO, with the advantage of frequent encore airings and HBO Go to help people get caught up, there's always the chance more viewers will board the series as Season 1 progresses.
The news wasn't great for Showtime's Episodes and Weeds either. Weeds returned for its eighth season, providing some resolution to the major Season 7 cliffhanger, to an audience of 1.1 million total viewers. That's apparently up from last season's average but down from the Season 7 premiere. Maybe Monday nights are better for the series? Or interest is just waning. It's the last season though, so the fate of the show is set regardless. But the situation is also not great for Episodes, which premiered to 486,000 total viewers for its second season opener, a 37% decrease from the series premiere last year. Hopefully more will give Episodes a shot. Season 2 has a lot going for it.
Check out our Episodes Season 2 review here.
