Andor closes out the series with a winâwell, sortaâas the final three episodes of Season 2 topped the Nielsen charts. I canât even remember the last time that happened for a Star Wars show. Maybe The Mandalorian?
Disney actually took the top two spots, with Bluey coming in at #2, which regularly charts on Nielsen.
If you read the trades and shill Reddit subs, youâd think the viewership ratings for Andor are the catâs meow. However, itâs more of a pipe dream.
Andor Finale Hits Nielsen Peak With 931 Million Minutes
Nielsen released the numbers for the week of May 12â18, which covers the release of the final three episodes starting May 13. Andor topped the chart with 931 million minutes viewed, which I believe is also a season and series best.
Breaking It Down: Andorâs Per-Episode Numbers Fail To Chart
However, is that really a good number? Not exactly. Thatâs basically three hours of TV, so if you break it down, the three episodes average around 311 million minutes each. On their own, individual episodes wouldnât have even made the Originals chart that week.
Take The Last of Us for an example. Even with viewership down, it still pulls more than double Andorâs numbers when you average it per episode. If HBO had dropped the first three episodes all at once, Andor would be in the gutter.
Disney Burned $650M on Andor
Tony Gilroy recently revealed that Disney spent $650 million on the series, and that Disney is broke AF.
With viewership as low as it was, itâs hard to argue that the cost was worth it. Youâll probably never see another series like Andor on Disney+ again.
Budgets slashed and content reduced
Instead, Disney has slashed budgets and cut content. Thatâs why the recent Marvel shows all look super low-budget, including Daredevil: Born Again, Agatha, and Echo. The days of the $200 million+ shows are gone. No idea how Ahsoka is going to look.
Buy, hey? A winâs a win, right?
