Lovecraft Country is an interesting sales pitch, featuring otherworldly horror combined and contrasted with the very real horror of racial bigotry. It's a somewhat heavy concept to throw at a general audience, and yet, folks seem to be responding incredibly well to the show's first season. The finale in particular garnered an impressive 1.5 million views across all platforms, marking a season high for the show.
That number is a solid 16 percent boost when compared to the season premiere, and 881,000 people tuned in to watch the finale on HBO's linear broadcast. One of the only HBO shows to compete was Watchmen's season finale, which pulled in about 1.6 million views overall. Lovecraft Country even outperformed the season 2 finale of Succession, one of the platform's other big currently running shows. It has also claimed the current top spot on HBO Max, according to the company, with the premiere slowly approaching the 10 million viewer milestone.
The show is based on the novel of the same name, originally written by Matt Ruff. It follows the story of Atticus Freeman as he travels across the Jim Crow-era United States in order to track down his missing father. Along the way however, their journey becomes one of survival, as he and his companions fight to avoid and overcome monstrous creatures and the already dangerous environment of an intolerant country. Both the show and the book play around with the idea of horror as theoretical monstrosities lurking in the shadows, as well as being the very real bigotry experienced by Black Americans in broad daylight.
All this is to say that Lovecraft Country has been, pretty inarguably, a resounding success for HBO. There hasn't been any official word on whether the show will be renewed for a second season yet. It seems likely, considering the success of the show, but it's not a guarantee, as evidenced by the decision of Watchmen's creator not to continue the show. Regardless, the strong show of support will certainly be a point in its favor if the showrunners end up pitching a second season to HBO.
Source: Variety