Fueled by solid lead-in support from new drama “True Detective” and endless media attention, HBO’s “Girls” opened its third season to series high numbers.
The Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning comedy averaged 1.1 million viewers for its two-episode premiere Sunday. Up from the 866,000 viewership tally for last year’s opener, the episode bested season one’s “Leave Me Alone” (1×08, 1.09 million viewers) to make for the most-watched “Girls” broadcast to date.
Earlier in the night, “True Detective” averaged 2.3 million viewers to reign as HBO’s most-watched premiere since 2010’s “Boardwalk Empire.”
Given that statistic, criticizing the performance would be very difficult. Given the high-profile nature of the project and its cast, however, lauding the performance as a runaway success would be equally difficult.