HBO has definitely become accustomed to having strong viewership, as the premium cable channel has produced a number of hits over the course of its history. Shows like The Sopranos, Entourage and The Wire were hits for the channel and, in recent years, Game of Thrones, Westworld and Succession are among the series to have led the charge. Of course, HBO just added a new original series to its roster in the form of The Nevers, and it looks like it’s already making a bit of history for the cabler’s streaming service, HBO Max.
The Nevers has reportedly gotten off to a strong start for HBO Max, as the show managed to draw in just over 1.4 million viewers across linear telecasts and digital, per Deadline. According to HBO, this marks the best premiere for a new HBO Original on HBO Max. For a bit more context, The Nevers’ premiere episode actually managed to surpass the viewership totals for the recent HBO premieres of dramas like The Undoing and Lovecraft Country. HBO also stated that viewership will likely increase due to additional telecasts and viewing across platforms.
Buzz surrounding The Nevers seemed to be high during its debut weekend, and it would appear that the numbers do indeed back it up. Given the creative power behind it, the show was highly anticipated, so the buzz and viewership may not be too surprising to some.
The Nevers is a Victorian-era sci-fi drama that centers on a group of women who gain extraordinary abilities after London is affected by a supernatural event. Those who possess these abilities soon find themselves in great danger, leading a widow and an inventor to team up to keep them safe.
The show was first reported to be in development at HBO back in 2018, with the idea coming from the mind of writer, director and producer Joss Whedon. The show marked the first television series in over a decade on which Whedon would serve as writer, executive producer and showrunner.
The drama would hit a bit of a speed bump when the COVID-19 pandemic would force production to shut down before filming on the 10-episode first season was completed. As a result, Season 1 is now being broken up into two parts, with the first consisting of six episodes. The show also underwent another behind-the-scenes change when Joss Whedon formally departed the series this past November. On his reason for leaving, Whedon said he was “genuinely exhausted” by the level of work needed to make a show of this scale during a pandemic.
It may be too early to say, but HBO may have another hit on its hands when it comes to The Nevers. We’ll be watching closely to see how it performs in the coming weeks.
