‘Lovecraft Country’ most watched HBO digital premiere since ‘Watchmen’

Lovecraft Country drew 766,000 viewers for its debut on the HBO TV channel.

A general view of atmosphere at HBO Max WarnerMedia Investor Day Presentation at Warner Bros. Studios on October 29, 2019 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)

Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams’s series, Lovecraft Country, premiered on HBO on Sunday and garnered 1.4 million cumulative viewers.

Lovecraft Country drew 766,000 viewers for its debut on the HBO TV channel alone, and the rest of the viewers tuned in through streaming services.

HBO said the show had the best digital premiere for any series on the channel since Watchmen, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

READ MORE: Black Twitter rejoices over ‘Lovecraft Country’ premiere

Watchmen and Lovecraft Country, both premiered on HBO with more than a million cumulative viewers.

When Watchmen premiered, HBO Go was still in existence and the show garnered 1.5 million cumulative multiplatform viewers. 800,000 of those viewers tuned in to the show as it premiered on television. 

Most recently, the launch of the streaming service, HBO Max, has helped to supplement the network’s viewership data.

HBO Go was shut down after the new app was launched in May. Since its 2020 launch, HBO Max has garnered more than four million subscribers. This is the first time the new streaming service has been included in general data.

READ MORE: ‘Watchmen’ nabs 26 Emmy nominations, plus full list of nominees

The new series is based on Matt Ruff’s science-fiction novel with the same name. Lovecraft Country takes viewers along the journey of Atticus Freeman played by Jonathan Majors.

Freeman is joined by his childhood friend, Letitia, played by Jurnee Smollett and his uncle George, played by Courtney B. Vance. The series follows the group on their road trip which starts in Chicago.

The group must overcome Jim Crow laws, sci-fi monsters, and more, as they search for Freeman’s missing father Montrose, played by Michael Kenneth Williams. 

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