While HBO’s new drama “The Leftovers” garnered respectable viewership for its premiere episode, it was unable to outdraw the debut episode of HBO’s fellow 2014 launch “True Detective.”
According the premium network, the series scored 1.8 million viewers for its inaugural broadcast at 10PM Sunday. “True Detective” scored 2.3 million viewers for its launch on January 12.
Of further note is the fact that “The Leftovers,” unlike “True Detective,” was not asked to operate as a self-starter. Sunday’s premiere received a lead-in boost from an original “True Blood” episode, which drew 3.1 million viewers.
That total, however, marked a considerable decline from the 4.0 million earned by last Sunday’s “True Blood” season premiere.
With its first encore included, “The Leftovers” reached 2.1 million viewers Sunday night. “True Blood” drew a nightly total of 3.5 million.
