HBO's biggest new drama of the year premiered to underwhelming ratings
According to live-plus-same-day ratings from Nielsen, the music drama's two-hour premiere, directed by Martin Scorsese, averaged just 764,000 viewers, Deadline reported.
For context, HBO's struggling "The Leftovers" premiered to 1.8 million viewers in 2014. Its second season averaged 700,000 viewers. HBO renewed it for a third and final season in December. "True Detective" premiered in 2014 with 2.3 million viewers, and its critically panned second season averaged 2.6 million viewers.
"Vinyl" could have suffered from premiering during a holiday weekend or airing against powerhouses in the 9 p.m. time slot, such as the midseason returns for "The Walking Dead" and "The Good Wife," and a "Tonight Show" Valentine's Day special on NBC. The HBO drama's numbers should go up substantially with delayed viewership over the week from DVR, On Demand, and streaming.
Critics were generally very content with "Vinyl," which scored a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Executive-produced by Mick Jagger, Scorsese, and Terence Winter (who's also the showrunner and helmed HBO's "Boardwalk Empire"), the series covers the music and recording world of 1970s New York City through the eyes of record-label president Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale).