HBO said 2.9 million people watched or streamed the series finale of “Succession” on Sunday night, a series record that is expected to grow when viewing delays are factored in.
That surpassed the first-night record of 2.75 million for an episode that aired on April 30, early in the fourth and final season of the family drama about a media company.
Viewership can be expected to expand significantly when timeshift viewing is taken into account. For example, the episodes of “Succession” this season have been watched by an average of 8.7 million viewers, according to the Nielsen company.
The series finale provided an answer to the story’s central question, whether any of media mogul Logan Roy’s sons would inherit control of his media empire.
“Succession” didn’t come close to the HBO record for 19.8 million people who watched the 2019 finale of “Game of Thrones” on its opening night. HBO estimated that some 46 million people have seen that episode when the delay is taken into account.
HBO said “Barry,” its series starring Bill Hader, had 700,000 viewers on the night of its finale last week. Episodes have averaged 3.4 million viewers this season.