In the finale of its second season, Andor secured a victory on the ratings front, although it was more of a partial win—the last three episodes ranked number one according to Nielsen charts. It’s been quite a while since such an achievement occurred for a Star Wars series; I believe The Mandalorian might have been the last show to do so.
Disney secured the first and second positions, as “Bluey” managed to rank second, consistently appearing on Nielsen’s charts.
From what I gather by scouring industry publications and popular Reddit forums, it seems like everyone’s raving about the viewership ratings for Andor. But in reality, it feels more like an aspiration rather than a tangible truth.
Andor Finale Hits Nielsen Peak With 931 Million Minutes
For the week of May 12-18, Nielsen shared data that includes the airing of the last three episodes starting on May 13. The sci-fi show Andor claimed the top spot with a record-breaking 931 million minutes watched, which I think marks both a season and series peak.
Breaking It Down: Andor’s Per-Episode Numbers Fail To Chart
Actually, is that a substantial amount? Not quite. Essentially, it equates to about three hours of television. In other words, if we split it up, those three episodes roughly total 311 million minutes each. Interestingly, on their own, individual episodes wouldn’t have placed the Originals in the weekly rankings that specific week.
Consider “The Last of Us” as an illustration. Despite a decrease in viewership, it surpasses the average viewing figures of “Andor” per episode by more than double. If HBO had released the first three episodes simultaneously, “Andor” might struggle to maintain its position.
Disney Burned $650M on Andor
Tony Gilroy has disclosed that Disney invested a staggering $650 million into the production of the series, which may lead some to question its financial viability given the relatively low viewership. Given this investment, it’s unlikely we will witness another series like Andor on Disney+ in the near future.
Budgets slashed and content reduced
Instead, Disney has reduced budgets and trimmed content, which is why the latest Marvel series appear to have lower production values. Shows like Daredevil: Born Again, Agatha, and Echo seem to fit this description. The era of shows costing over $200 million appears to be a thing of the past. It remains to be seen how Ahsoka will turn out.
Buy, hey? A win’s a win, right?
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2025-06-13 08:31