'True Detective' ratings end on high, but still can't beat Season 1

The ratings for HBO's second season finale of "True Detective" delivered good and bad news.

The good news is that the finale was the no. 1 original series on Sunday night television, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings. It also saw a bump in viewership with 2.73 million viewers tuning in versus last week's 2.18 million viewers.

As for the bad news, Season 2 was unable to live up to Season 1's finale viewership. A total of 3.52 million viewers watched last year's finale in March versus Season 2's 2.73 million on Sunday. That represents a huge 22% drop from Season 1.

Nevertheless, ratings are relative. In the end, HBO can be happy with bringing home the top series of the night. That could be enough to justify HBO Programming President Michael Lombardo's desire for a third season.

If ['True Detective' creator Nic Pizzolatto] wants to do another season, I said the door is open, we'd like to do another season of it," the exec said.