‘His Dark Materials’ Is Gradually Losing Viewers In The UK

While it’s first few episodes have been received with plenty of praise and a host of viewers (averaging around five million), it appears HBO’s newest hit series has suddenly hit a roadblock. According to Deadline, the adaption series "His Dark Materials" has dropped in U.K. viewership on BBC One, equally around 300,000 from episodes 2 to 3.

And, that’s only the half of it, as Philip Pullman’s silver screen reworking debuted at a whopping 7.2 million viewers, marking it among one of the biggest new British TV dramas in years. Only, it has lost many U.K. households by its second episode, and its third is being considered a flop due to an "uneventful" hour where "not much happens," as noted by The Independent.

Many are claiming it has a lot to do with the idea that "His Dark Materials" is trying to be "Game of Thrones," as reported by Fansided. This goes hand in hand with the question of what age "His Dark Materials" is suitable for, which still slightly remains up in the air, despite its TV-14 rating.

With "His Dark Materials" episode 3 airing in the U.S. on HBO Monday night, consolidated viewership will most assuredly be of help for the new TV series, though critical reception will be its deciding factor. With nearly an entire trilogy to adapt and, according to star Clarke Peters, a possibility for the show to go well beyond that, there’s plenty of time for "His Dark Materials" to mature.

Given that the figures for its first episode leaped from 7.2 to 9.4 million when all households were tallied, there may still be hope, after all, given it was second only to "Line of Duty" as being U.K.’s biggest drama debut in 2019. Time will only tell.

U.S. viewers can catch "His Dark Materials" Mondays at 9 p.m. EST on HBO.