There was a new job in Japan, a solo showcase, potential new love and a new baby as the Lena Dunham-created Girls ended its fourth season on Sunday. Maybe it was that baby, but there were a few more total viewership eyeballs this year as 687,000 watched the 9 PM episode but a lot less in the adults 18-49 demographic.
Among total viewers, the last show of HBO’s 10-episode season is pretty steady with the Season 3 finale of March 23 last year at 10 PM, which was watched by 670,000 total viewers. The difference in total viewers from the Season 4 ender and the Season 3 finale was just 2% in the former’s favor. The Season 3 ender was up 6% from the Season 2 finale of March 17, 2013 at 9 PM.
As this cycle’s total viewership was up a bit, among adults 18-49, Girls sunk to a finale demo low. Sunday’s Season 4 finale pulled in 326,000 viewers in the key demo. That’s down a hard 33% from the key demo who watched the Season 3 finale last year. Compared to the S4 opener, Sunday’s finale was up 1% in total viewers from that all-time premiere low but fell 16% from the key demo results of the January 11 opener.
Sunday’s “Home Birth” finale followed a broadcast of the Seth MacFarlane 2014 pic A Million Ways To Die In The West. The 10 PM S3 ender was preceded by an airing of The Hangover Part III.
Renewed for a fifth season by HBO back on January 5, the guys and girls of Girls will be back.
No surprise. “Girls”, “Looking” and “Togetherness” are the three most boringly pretentious shows to have ever aired on HBO.
Moving over to Netflix, Showtime, Amazon, etc.
As fan of this show, I have to say that I think it’s underreported how low the ratings are on this show. I think Lena and team are fantastic but, she’s so overhyped. I don’t know anyone else who watches the show on the regular. So, it doesn’t have the buzz behind most shows. In fact, it seems like this show is more of a Hollywood darling and people who REALLY want to see it succeed but doesn’t connect with most viewers. It is a very niche show.
@Joe, well at least you’re honest. I cut the cord after “The Sopranos” and “Sex and The City” ended, the latter being an EPIC show with a huge following of women in, and outside of, it’s demo.
From what I’ve seen (on last week’s “Scandal”) and read about Dunham, she might as well be a reality TV persona. I don’t get any sense, from people in her generation, many of whom I work with, that they admire her, much less watch her work. I’ve never understood why Hollywood is so eager to push her and prop her up. It will be interesting once HBO comes to its senses and drops her program to see where she’ll land. She can’t act, she has no future in features, so outside of producing and writing, for a niche content provider, the masses will never embrace her; especially those in Peoria.
“Did you see the latest episode of ‘Girls’? I love that show!” said Nobody. The non-comedy that gets great reviews because of Lena’s age. Odd.
i think it’s a shame that more people don’t watch this show.
it’s very well written, acted and directed.
i get the backlash but lena dunham really has a strong voice with a lot to say even if i don’t agree with her all the time.
a true talent.
Her directing is atrocious. It’s the laziest directing on television outside CBS sitcoms.
How does that compare to Transparent or Orange is the New Black?
On a network with no advertisements why would the “key demo” matter over total viewers? I understand why networks that are betrothed to advertisers would be slaves to this 18-49 B.S., but I believe that $15/month from someone over 50 is pretty much identical to the same amount from someone younger, no?
Perhaps they are just afraid that the viewers watching these programs are so old that they’ll either die before the series ends its run, or will not garner enough respect from younger people to promote the series well enough to attract new subscribers? Maybe HBO should just ask them to lie about their age on twitter and talk up how awesome the show is. Either way, the idea that a pay for subscription channel with no ads should be worried about the median age of viewers is ridiculous.
Incidentally, this is coming from someone who is in this magical key demo.
Very well said.
No, they want young people watching because they want to be “cool” network.
17,000 more viewers than the last season finale is bad because… they’re not the “right” age? Good job twisting a viewer uptick into a negative, Dominic.
What difference does the “key demo” make to subscription based HBO? Wouldn’t they care more about internal #s indicating how many people decide to pay for HBO, regardless of age, because of Girls?
HBO should have never given this show another year
I thought the finale was really touching and one of the best episodes yet!
Me too! I would like to see one more season, too many openings and unfinished business going on here:)
This season was so phoned in and out of touch in regard to character development. And you can tell no one gave anyone notes. (“It’s Lena. She knows what she’s doing.”) As if any viewer cares about Ray running for city council? Comedy Central’s Broad City is everything Girls wishes it was. Time to put Lena’s snooze fest out to pasture. (And yes, I know it’s already been renewed — lucky them, not us).
Well…whatever nonsense hype was artificially propping up the brand was shown to be gossamer when she was proven to be a liar.
Lena Dunham writing a feature for (or being in something directed by) a Kelly Reichardt or a Lisa Cholodenko or a Todd Haynes might be really interesting. My guess is that she’s influenced by all of them. (The Adam and Ray go looking for a dog together episode for instance. One of the best I thought.) This is a woman who is conscious of the fact that she could play matronly no problem. She knows that that’s seething beneath the surface no matter how many tattoos she shows. The contradiction is Whit Stillman galvanizing whether you want to admit it or not. It’s a shame she trashed Woody Allen because she’s kind of perfect for Woody Allen; one of those female characters he finds bewildering, amusing, and appalling all at the same time that he uses as a comic foil. What “Annie Hall” hath vintage store-wrought from Williamsburg hell basically.
This show goes nowhere and says nothing – and yet my girlfriend tunes in every Sunday, so consequently I do. Please disappear, GIRLS.
You have missed the show if you believe it says nothing.
“Girls” is great. Lena Dunham is a really good writer of television. Hence her success.
Using outdated resources to monitor audiences I feel is what’s causing a false drop in viewers from 18-49. We are watching, just via hbo go/online etc. Most of us under 50 utilize and watch TV when we please and don’t stay up to watch it “live” as we speak.
What a topsy turvy world this is when I feel a feel apprehensive about saying that I loved this season, loved the finale and can’t wait for season 5. I love your work LD!
I love this show