Showtime's new series Penny Dreadful got off to a decent start on Sunday even with the pilot available online early, while Game of Thrones dipped slightly from last week's excellent ratings.
The first showing of Penny managed 872,000 viewers, but bumps up to 1.44 million when repeats are included, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That is a decent start, but the better news for the show is that over 60 percent of those who tuned in were in the key 18-49 demographic.
The showings also started off better than both Homeland and Masters of Sex, who both were strong in their debuts with 1.38 million, though both programs benefited by having strong lead ins, which Penny Dreadful did not have.
Game of Thrones slipped from last weekend's 7.2 million viewers down to 6.4 million, reports Deadline. Freshman comedy Silicon Valley also was down, to 1.7 million viewers. Veep, though, had a great night, up to a new viewership high of 1.1 million for its third season.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver remained steady on the night, pulling in about 1 million viewers.
image courtesy of Jonathan Hession/SHOWTIME