Dune: Prophecy is off to a strong start as the premiere episode tallied 1.2M cross-platform U.S. viewers on Sunday, according to Warner Bros. Discovery.
The episode grew another 75% in the day after it debuted, bringing the total audience thus far to 2.1M viewers, the company says.
That’s a pretty solid start for the prequel series, nearly in par with the premiere of The Penguin‘s audience of 1.4M. Dune: Prophecy took over the Sunday slot from the DC series, which continued to grow its same-day audience right up to the finale. HBO now says The Penguin premiere has tallied 18M U.S. viewers.
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This bodes well for Dune: Prophecy, likely indicating that the audience for this series will grow too. In the streaming era, same-day viewership is becoming less indicative of the appetite for any titles, as audiences tend to watch on their own terms throughout the week. As more data becomes available, a better picture on Dune: Prophecy‘s performance will begin to form.
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Dune: Prophecy takes place long before the characters in Denis Villeneuve’s films fight for control of the galaxy. Co-produced with Legendary Television, the series follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind – and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.
Ten thousand years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Valya and Tula Harkonnen (Emily Watson and Olivia Williams) are devoted to the Sisterhood, whose influence spans the Imperium through its network of Truthsayers. But while Valya believes the key to protecting the Sisterhood is advancing their power all the way to the Imperial Throne, others within the order fear her ambitions are dangerous.
It is inspired by the novel Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Alison Schapker serves as showrunner and executive producer.