NON SPOILERS: Twin Peaks: Season 3 on Showtime Thread

[Poltergeist27]

Latest episode got a 0.1 rating with 254,000 total viewers for the first live showing

http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/s ... -2017.html

Still not looking good but this obviously doesn't factor in streaming which probably is 60% or more of the audience. Probably looking at a little under a million U.S. viewers across all platforms. Worldwide and licensed in many countries means that figure is multiplied by a fair bit though. And we're in no danger of Showtime pulling it, but this is just info in case they are considering another season.

[laughingpinecone]

Yes, of course those aren't the total numbers. Here's that rating compared to the same rating for other Showtime shows: http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/showt ... ngs-33448/

I haven't been keeping up with the press for the most part, how are the reviews and thinkpieces doing? Still overwhelmingly positive?

[N. Needleman]

Remarkably so, yes.

[mtwentz]

I guess we should be as concerned about ratings as we are that art house movies don't outperform summer blockbusters at the box office.

[laughingpinecone]

Excellent! I stumbled upon a few very good thinkpieces, it's nice. And of course all the great interviews, those help the buzz too.

[mujubuju]

Excellent! I stumbled upon a few very good thinkpieces, it's nice. And of course all the great interviews, those help the buzz too.

Rottentomatoes has consistently been ranking it at the top of the list for its "most popular TV" section, and they just added a shot of Gordon Cole for its "Summer TV Scorecard" edition, where Twin Peaks ranks #4. If this continues to gain word of mouth and buzz over the summer it will absolutely be considered a success.

[Hockey Mask]

I think it's safe to say the rating are crap.

Still happy with the show though.

[Rudagger]

Those ratings are .. well, shockingly bad.

I'm actually surprised by how low are they, and I was one of the ones who mentioned how I thought, from a business perspective, that Twin Peaks was a bad call (but don't get me wrong, I'm loving the Return!)

Mind you, this week was up against the series finale of the Leftovers, so, maybe they'll have a small bump next week (not that Leftovers was a ratings powerhouse by any means, but, I think it especially hit a similar target audience). But, given that the premiere night only ticked a .5, I'm not sure it'll ever reach good ratings (unless their streaming and delayed viewing numbers really are good enough to off-set the low live numbers, which naturally aren't as important to channels that don't sell commercials).

[Panapaok]

The ratings are very bad, sadly. Obviously most people watch through streaming but still the ratings are very low. Even if they pick up a little for a while, then GoT will start and they will be low again.

At least the critical reception is overwhelmingly positive, that makes me very happy.

[counterpaul]

Those ratings are .. well, shockingly bad.

I'm very curious about something (and I'm not being combative or snarky here--this is a 100% genuine, non-rhetorical question): Why in the world would it matter to a commercial-free, subscription-based channel like Showtime when people watch episodes of their shows? How is watching something when it first airs using a cable box any different, from Showtime's point-of-view, than watching one of the many reruns later in the week or watching it on-demand from their app? As long as people are subscribed and watching one way or another, why would when matter to Showtime, from a financial standpoint?

I mean, I'm paying a TV provider for the first time in about 10 years specifically because of Twin Peaks, and I know for certain that I am not alone (I'm a total hermit--but even I have multiple friends and acquaintances doing the same thing). I don't have cable, so I guess I'm not included in the live TV ratings, but I'm paying Showtime every month and I watch each part on-demand the moment it's available (the same time it airs on the East Coast--I'm on the West Coast so I'm watching right at 6pm every Sunday).

Is there a good reason to think that Showtime isn't on the level when they say they're far more interested in new subscriptions and streaming numbers than ratings? From a totally business-focussed perspective, that seems incredibly sensible. Again, they're not selling ads so why wouldn't ratings be completely superfluous?

[Hockey Mask]

I had the same questions in another thread and you make some good points. But the first night ratings are still bad when comparing it to other like-programmed shows.

[Rudagger]

Those ratings are .. well, shockingly bad.

I'm very curious about something (and I'm not being combative or snarky here--this is a 100% genuine, non-rhetorical question): Why in the world would it matter to a commercial-free, subscription-based channel like Showtime when people watch episodes of their shows? How is watching something when it first airs using a cable box any different, from Showtime's point-of-view, than watching one of the many reruns later in the week or watching it on-demand from their app? As long as people are subscribed and watching one way or another, why would when matter to Showtime, from a financial standpoint?

I mean, I'm paying a TV provider for the first time in about 10 years specifically because of Twin Peaks, and I know for certain that I am not alone (I'm a total hermit--but even I have multiple friends and acquaintances doing the same thing). I don't have cable, so I guess I'm not included in the live TV ratings, but I'm paying Showtime every month and I watch each part on-demand the moment it's available (the same time it airs on the East Coast--I'm on the West Coast so I'm watching right at 6pm every Sunday).

Is there a good reason to think that Showtime isn't on the level when they say they're far more interested in new subscriptions and streaming numbers than ratings? From a totally business-focussed perspective, that seems incredibly sensible. Again, they're not selling ads so why wouldn't ratings be completely superfluous?

Well, even with the delayed viewing figures they released, it still doesn't top what some of their shows are doing in live showings. You are right though; they're commercial free, so, it doesn't matter *when*. But, there are a few things to gleam; comparable cable-only shows that air on Sundays outperform Peaks. That's not a great sign. So, something like Homeland might draw larger day one viewers, and keep in mind, that *also* has delayed viewing and streaming views. You'd still expect that the live showing should be doing better than it is (when considering that Twin Peaks is pulling less than some of Showtime's shows that got cancelled due to poor ratings; Masters of Sex, Penny Dreadful, etc.). The premiere drew in 1.7 million with +3 (3 days of delayed viewing), which is a much better sign. But, I'm not sure about what the drop off has been like (obviously the second week fell hard in live viewing due to those episodes having already been available online).

I imagine some value to live ratings is also that they indicate people who watch week-to-week. Ultimately premium cable is still focused on retaining viewers for as much of the year as possible, and so high live ratings indicate a healthy audience (rather than one that might unsubscribe and then binge the entire thing in a week after it finishes airs).

It's not that I don't believe Nevins is on the level or anything about the response, it's just in Hollywood you never talk negatively about ongoing shows or just released movies. If the ratings were disappointing, we won't hear about it until after it's all aired anyway.

But you're right, it doesn't necessarily mean doom and gloom. I'm more worried about if those post-airing figures trend down. If Lynch/Frost do end up wanting to do a fourth season, I imagine Showtime was probably hoping for numbers more comparable to Ray Donavon/Billions/Shameless/Homeland (especially given that Peaks is an existent brand, despite it being niche). But, we don't know the budget either, so, or the merchandising sales (they're putting a ton of stuff out, so, I have to assume it's selling well, Frost's book is getting a follow up, etc.), how the overseas sales/ratings are, etc.

[dkenny78]

As much as I would love the show to be taking the nation by storm like 'Game of Thrones' or 'The Walking Dead,' it somehow seems appropriate that 'Twin Peaks' is struggling in the ratings - it's like the Winter/Spring of 1991 all over again!

[underthefan]

Though I'd agree that live ratings aren't nearly as important to a premium cable as to regular networks that rely on advertising money, these viewership numbers are not bad, they are truly abysmal, especially in comparison to other Showtime shows. When crapfest that is Ray Donovan has three times the amount of viewers of TP, I'd say that is a giant disappointment (in terms of Showtime's expectations and public perception) particularly considering how much the channel has invested into the production and marketing of TP. A lot of it has already paid off through international distribution rights, but it's likely at the end Nevins won't see much profit from the show. That doesn't yet mean there is no chance of renewal for Season 4, but I wouldn't bet my house on it. Damn it, I wouldn't even bet $5 on it!

[mtwentz]

I guess we have to ask the question, 'Why'? Did the lack of advance reviews and a trailer end up hurting?

Or at the end of the day, was the idea that Netflix and Hulu had spread Twin Peaks to a whole new market just completely oversold?