UPDATE 9/10: “At least not yet” has an answer — Episode 4 matched the premiere’s peak after the backlash, the fourth peak in a row at the same level, and Lanterns made it back-to-back weekly No. 1s.
UPDATE 9/4: Samba TV’s household chart tells a different story — Lanterns slipped from No. 2 to No. 4 among the most-watched streaming shows in America while Reacher stayed at No. 1.
UPDATE 9/3: HBO Max has now released the official viewership, and it backs up everything below — Episode 3 drew 10 million viewers worldwide, a series high that tops the premiere.
Episode 3 of Lanterns set off the loudest backlash of the season, with James Gunn calling “OutKast” one of the best episodes while this site’s review called it complete garbage.
The chart data is now in.
Nobody left. At least not yet.
Episode 3 held Lanterns at series-high levels on HBO Max’s worldwide chart all week, according to FlixPatrol.
And while the fight over the episode raged, the series quietly banked its first weekly No. 1, the win our Episode 2 breakdown said was coming if the numbers held.
They held.
About FlixPatrol
Quick reminder on the data: FlixPatrol scores shows by their daily Top 10 positions on HBO Max in nearly 60 countries. It’s a popularity ranking, not a viewer count, and Nielsen’s U.S. numbers won’t catch up until later this month. But again, it’s the only public, same-day scoreboard HBO Max has.
One limit worth knowing: chart points measure where a show ranks, not how many people watched. A series can lead HBO Max in a slow month without drawing big numbers, as Stuart Fails to Save the Universe has run near the top of this chart for weeks and has never made Nielsen’s U.S. Top 10. The Acolyte also recently charted, but not on Nielsen, and it meant nothing.
Three Weeks In, Nothing Has Dropped
Each episode airs Sunday night and peaks on the chart three days later, on Wednesday.
Episode 1 peaked at 565 points. Episode 2 peaked at 568. Episode 3 peaked at 564 on September 2.
Three weeks in, every episode is peaking at the same number.
Episode 3 was ahead of Episode 2 all week: Sunday night it did 519 points, up from 481. Monday, 534 up from 486. Tuesday, 563 up from 547.
The floor is what moved. Lanterns‘ lowest day between episodes jumped 38 points week over week. The show isn’t spiking and crashing, it’s holding a level, and the level is rising.
The first weekly win
The weekly totals are also in, and Lanterns finished first with 3,782 points. House of the Dragon had 3,298. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe had 3,032.
So the show won the entire week by 484 points.
It also grew its own total 26% over its premiere week, when it put up 3,005 despite only charting six of seven days after the Sunday-night launch.
The current week is tracking the same direction.
Through September 3, Lanterns leads 2,221 to Stuart’s 1,736 and House of the Dragon‘s 1,487, with three days left.
Will there be a Lanterns Season 2?
Lanterns co-creator Damon Lindelof recently said Season 2 happens “if it’s successful.”
Showrunner Chris Mundy also said they have a writers room working on the second season, but that doesn’t guarantee Season 2.
We’ll know once the Nielsen numbers come in. HBO has yet to make an announcement.
Episode 4 streams Sunday, September 6 on HBO Max — the same day the current chart week closes.
